Naruto's New World: Revised
by erickmenk
Summary: Revised from the original story. On his way to heaven, Naruto's soul had been accidentally snagged by a desperate Kyuubi from a parallel world where he have living family, the civilians adore him, and the shinobi hate his guts.
1. Prologue

DATE RE-STARTED: January 30, 2010

TITLE:

GENRE: Dimension-Travel Action/Adventure/Romance

SUMMARY: After a final attempt to turn the tides of war against an Orochimaru, Naruto suddenly woke up in a Konoha where the villagers saw him as a hero but all his precious people only saw him as a spoiled brat and a nuisance. But the biggest surprised of all is that a mother he had never knew was alive, and that he also has a younger sister with a terminal illness. Can he cope with this new world before him? Can he regain the trust of his precious people once again? And would he be able to defeat the Orochimaru of this world?

**PROLOGUE**

"So, Iruka-sensei, this is it. The final battle against snake-face." The 25 year old blue-eyed, blond man said as he watches the approaching army of thousands of ninja from the top wall of Konohagakure's main gate.

"Yes, Naruto-kun. Or should I call you Kage-sama?" The scarred-faced man wearing a red ANBU uniform and a white dolphin mask said.

Uzumaki Naruto, Fox-Frog Sannin, and Kage of the last remaining stronghold against the Sound, gave the man a sad smile as he said, "It's strange. I finally reached my dream to be Kage, yet I feel no sense of accomplishment from it. Is it because they merely gave it to me since they thought there won't be any village left to save?"

"Don't be daft, Naruto. You know very well that all of them picked you because they acknowledge your strength. They all believed you have the power to change the fate of the world. Or at least make sure that the next generation would have something to look forward to." Iruka said to his former pupil. He can't help but smile at remembering the look on his former pupil's face when he emerged out of the meeting room to see everyone, shinobi and civilians alike, bowing down to him and declaring him their chosen Kage.

At first Naruto thought it was a joke since everyone knows that the title of Kage had been cut off since Tsunade's death, as well as the death of the rest of the Kages of the Great Shinobi Nation, years ago. But his friends, namely Neji, Iruka, Shikamaru, and even Gaara had also bowed down before him and presented him with the Hokage robes. But not only does the robe have the symbol Fire, it also have the symbol of Water, Earth, Wind, and Lightning. So all in all, he is the Kage of all Elemental Countries and is recognized as such.

He had reluctantly accepted it. And when he turned to the seven hundred or more shinobi and at most a thousand civilians, all he saw were recognition, something he had always craved as a child, something he thought he would never get to see in his lifetime. Although they were mostly facing oblivion against Sound's army in the next couple of hours, he would do his damn best to make sure he deserves this role.

"Do you think they're proud of me? Everyone I mean." Naruto asked once more, sadness evident on his voice. And in an almost inaudible whisper, he added, "Do you think she's proud of me?"

Iruka knew perfectly well who 'Everyone' is. They are his friends, family, people who had got to know him and acknowledge his strength. People who died believing in him until the very end. And the 'she' could only mean one person, the only other person rather than the Sandaime Hokage who had loved him unconditionally even before he became a gennin. Hyuuga Hinata, Naruto's late wife.

Iruka gently put his hand on Naruto's shoulder and said, "I am sure they are all very proud of you, especially her. I know I am. Your strength managed to keep Konoha strong despite overwhelming odds against the Sound. You have managed to get most of the survivors of the other Hidden Villages and gave them a home here in Konoha. You are now the Kage, supreme leader recognized by all other Hidden Villages of the Shinobi Continent. And in a few moments, the Bringer of Death and Rebirth to the World."

"Getting melodramatic on me now, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked, gracing his teacher with an actual grin.

"Not at all, considering what you're about to do." The older man said, looking at the approaching army.

The plan was relatively simple. Gaara would use Shukaku to cover the entire Hidden Village of the Leaf in a Sand Barrier for three months before Naruto releases Kyuubi to decimate Sound throughout the entire Shinobi Continent. It would have been a stupid plan if Naruto hadn't made sure that the Fox Demon had given it's word that it would make sure everyone inside the sand barrier, as well as any future descendants that sprung from them would be spared of it's wrath.

Suddenly, three figures appeared behind them. Iruka turned to greet the newcomers while Naruto didn't even turn his head away from the approaching army as he asked, "Is everything ready?"

"All of them know their roles." Neji said in an even tone. "Once the barrier is down, all shinobi are to scout the entire continent for any survivors that the fox would leave behind and offer them help if they can."

"All plans for future restoration of the Shinobi Continent are being rechecked just in case there comes any unexpected variable." Shikamaru lazily added. "But chances of that are minimal. We are still expecting that there will be at least twice as many survivors compared to the number of people in Konohagakure right now, including both civilians and shinobis."

"Good. Then it's time I earned my title. So I guess this is goodbye, everyone." Naruto said with a confident smirk that is rarely seen in his face for the last few years.

Neji, Shikamaru, and Iruka couldn't help but give the blond man a sad smile in return. This would be the last time they would see their friend and they were glad to know that at least the last thing they will remember about seeing him is that confident smirk that always manage to lift up their spirits during their youth. They all gave their last goodbyes at their dear friend before jumping down towards the inner wall of the village, leaving Naruto alone with the red headed Shukaku vessel.

For a moment, neither said anything, merely looking at the approaching army of thousands.

Finally, Gaara spoke and said, "I wish I could go into battle alongside you."

Naruto gave him a smirk and said, "I know. And I bet Shukaku is pissed at the role he got."

"He is. But he knows better than to disrespect you or the Kyuubi. Especially after you got him back from Madara."

"Don't worry about it. Shukaku would be known in the future as a savior of the people and would gain their respect; something the Sand Demon appreciates other than bloodlust according to Kyuubi, now that he's no longer driven insane by that priest spirit."

"I see." After another awkward silence, he said, "You are not going to survive."

"I know." Naruto gave his friend a sad smile. "You'll watch over them, as the nest Kage, won't you?"

"Yes."

"Thank you, my friend." Naruto said with all the sincerity he could muster.

Gaara merely nodded and started to do the demonic hand seals that would allow Shukaku to cover the entire village of Konohagakure with impenetrable sand for at least a few months.

Giving one final nod to his friend, Naruto jumped down the outer wall and started running towards the Sound Army with that never-say-die smirk of his, not even paying attention as thousands of tons of sand started erupting around the entire village.

"_Yo, Kyuubi, it's finally time for the Cleansing."_

"_**I hear you, Brat. It would be a glorious way to die."**_

"_Glad to hear it. Just try to spare the innocents and tell them Konoha's message, okay. There are a lot of survivors out there and quite a lot of shinobis that were only forced to side with the Snake-Bastard."_

"_**I know, Kit."**_

"_What? That's it? That's all you got to say?"_

"_**There is nothing more to say, Brat. Your soul would be rip out of your body the moment you release the seal. And the chakra you will leave behind would sustain me for at most three months before my own soul follow yours. So there isn't much to say since you and I would be stuck with each other again pretty soon."**_

"_Yeah. But still, it would be a long three months. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm glad I'm finally going to have my 'alone time' but I never have before since you were always there."_

"_**Stop being so melodramatic, kit. It would be a grand vacation to be finally away from you, even for a short while. Now stop bitching! You're taking the fun out of mass mayhem and destruction I am about to perform."**_

"_Yeah, yeah, you blood-thirsty fuzzball." _Naruto said sarcastically as more than ten thousand Kage Bushins popped into existence all around him, engaging the frontline of the Sound Army. He then summoned Gamabunta, the Frog Boss, and Kyuusei, a giant eight tailed fox and told them, "Hey, Kyuusei, Boss, could you guys keep them off my back for a few minutes?"

"**So, the Cleansing has begun, huh. Sure thing, kid."** The Frog Boss, Gamabunta said as he readied his katana.

"**It would be my honor, Naruto-sama."** Kyuusei said in a more respectful tone while glaring at the Frog Boss for not showing Naruto proper respect.

Both Boss Summons had deflected all attacks made by the army against the blond Supreme Kage, who was already a quarter way past the three hundred seals needed to release the seal and at the same time, leave his chakra with Kyuubi when he dies. Even Manda, the Snake Boss wasn't able to get pass two other Boss Summon to stop Naruto.

"THIS IS IT!"

"**THIS IS IT!"**

Both Naruto and Kyuubi said at the same time as he finished the last of the seal. Suddenly, Naruto was engulped in a sea of red chakra, burning his body inside out. He was well aware that he was dying, but despite the pain, he knew, his death would give this world hope for a brighter future. With the last of his strength, he turned towards the now trembling army in front of him and smirked. "Let the Cleansing, begin."

And then, everything went blank.


	2. The Arrival of Naruto

DATE RE-STARTED: January 31, 2010

TITLE:

GENRE: Dimension-Travel Action/Adventure/Romance

SUMMARY: After a final attempt to turn the tides of war against an immortal Orochimaru, Naruto suddenly woke up in a Konoha where the villagers saw him as a hero but all his precious people only saw him as a spoiled brat and a nuisance. But the biggest surprised of all is that a mother he had never knew was alive, and that he also has a younger sister with a terminal illness. Can he cope with this new world before him? Can he regain the trust of his precious people once again? And would he be able to defeat the Orochimaru of this world?

CHAPTER 1

When Naruto finally opened his eyes, he was expecting to see either the gates of Heaven or the fires of Hell, but instead, he found himself in an all too familiar sewer he had visited so many times through the course of his life. He was inside his mind once more, the same dirty walls, the same low ceiling, the same murky water, the same busted pipe system.

Thinking that he might have fouled up the seal release, he started heading towards Kyuubi's cage at the very center of his mindscape. Soon enough, he found himself in front of a very huge gate at the end of the sewer. But it was different than what he remembered. For one thing, the bars seem to be rusted and weak, compared to the golden shine it used to have. There also seems to be some kind of parasitic molds that are slowly eating away the walls surrounding the cage. The only thing that looked the same is the seal that keeps the cage intact.

He walked towards the gate, which immediately shifted its shape to allow him entry. As he passed through the gate, instead of feeling the enormous chakra of the most powerful of the Tailed Beasts, he felt a twiddling presence that is barely there anymore. He looked around the endless sea of darkness but found no sign of the Kyuubi.

He was just about to call out to him when, out of nowhere, tendrils of red chakra engulfed him and held him firmly in place. Then, an unfamiliar voice was heard saying, **"I have found you again, foolish mortal. You thought you could just run away and let me die in such a pitiful state, you pathetic excuse of a worm?"**

Then, a red chakra slowly started to shimmer in front of him, shaping into a form of a fox that is twice as big as himself. When the form is finally complete and solid, Naruto found himself face to face with the Kyuubi no Kitsune. But there was a big difference with this demon fox compared to the one he had grown to know. This fox seems to have a lighter shade of orange fur, and instead of black, it has white fur highlighting the edge of its ears, mouth, legs and tails. Also, this fox is a bit more feminine than his Kyuubi. Also, this fox seems to be quite weak, as if its power is barely keeping it standing.

When the fox finally got a good look at him, it growled with such ferocity that made the hairs of his back stand on end. **"You are not my jailer! Who are you, human? Speak now or suffer my wrath!"**

Naruto smirked. He had endure his own fox ever since he got to know it and if this other fox thinks it could get him to cower in its presence then it got another thing coming. "Naruto."

**"No, you are not. You may look like him, your souls may even smell the same, but you are not my vessel! Now, you will suffer for invading my cell!" **This Kyuubi shouted in rage before she sprung towards him with intent to kill.

Seeing this, Naruto narrowed his eyes and immediately called forth his own mixed chakra, destroying the tendrils holding him.

The Kyuubi was so shocked at seeing a mere human totally destroyed her chakra tendrils that it stopped dead in its track, giving Naruto the chance to attack it.

Using his own pools of chakra mixed with his Kyuubi's youkai, he pinned down the other fox by the neck, totally immobilizing its use of its chakra by blocking it with his own.

**"Release me, human scum! Release me!"**

"SHUT UP!" Naruto shouted at the strangling fox. Putting more pressure on its neck, he ordered. "Revert to your humanoid form."

**"Who are you to order me, the most feared of the Tailed Demons? Release me or I will burn your soul for all eternity, ape-rat!"** The fox continued to struggle but with no avail. The human's hold on it was too strong.

"Not until you revert to your humanoid form and answer some questions. Now, revert to your human form!"

The fox tried to struggle some more, using its chakra to push him off, with no apparent success. Finally, the fox started to change. But instead of a man that Naruto was used to seeing, the fox turned into a buxom, red headed, girl of about 20 years of age. A buxom, _naked_, red headed girl! And with fox ears, red slitted eyes, and nine reddish fox tails.

Naruto almost had a nosebleed at the slender figure underneath him. Fortunately for him, his exposure to the naked female flesh at a young age thanks to a perverted sannin allowed him to keep better control of his raging hormones.

"Now, if you swear to answer my questions and not to attack me once I release you, I will answer all questions you will ask. Is it a deal?"

The now human fox gave her captor a death glare before finally spitting out a **"Fine, human."**

"Good." He then jumped off of her, giving the two of them at least five meters of space between them just in case Kyuubi decides to attack him, no matter how small a chance it has considering a demon had just given him her words. And no demon, especially powerful ones, goes back on their word.

**"Who are you, human?" **She asked as soon as she was on her feet.

"I am Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto, Fox-Frog Sannin of Konohagakure, Kage of the survivors of the Hidden Villages of the Shinobi Continent, and Leader of the Alliance in the war against Otogakure." He said proudly. "Now, who are you?"

**"Are you blind, human? Standing before you is the most feared of all the Tailed Beasts, I am Kyuubi no Kitsune."**

Naruto pondered her answer for a few minutes, thinking of how it is possible to see another Kyuubi no Kitsune in his mind. He looked at her intently for a few moments, trying to keep his eyes on her face instead of her perfectly shaped chest, slim waist, and lower regions. Then he noticed that her tails seems to be a bit transparent in some areas. "Why are you so weak?"

The fox growled a bit but answered his question nonetheless. **"I am weak now because my vessel's soul decided to flee when he was attacked by a rogue ninja a month ago. When I lent him my chakra to save his pitiful life, he used that chakra to separate his soul from his body to escape rather than face his opponent. A body without a soul will soon die so I was using my chakra tendrils, spreading it throughout all plane of existence to bring his soul back to his body. I may be indifferent to death but I shall NOT die in such a pitiful manner!"**

_"Plane of existence? A different dimension!"_ Naruto thought. According to his Kyuubi, the spirit world is just another plane of existence. There even exist other realities, sort of a different dimension, which is also akin to another plane of existence. And if this Kyuubi was using its chakra tendrils as fishing lines to get the soul of another Naruto from the spirit world, it might have caught him by mistake since he has practically the same soul as his counterpart.

"How long have you been imprisoned?" he asked.

**"Eleven years."**

"Eleven years? Then he is still a child!"

**"Yes, a child. A useless one at that! And now, I will die doing nothing because that child decides to run for it."**

"Can't you just use your tendrils to catch him like you did me?"

**"Not anymore. I am at my last leg. Spreading my chakra outside this cage the first time have already drained me of half my powers. And doing it again is impossible now."**

"I see." Naruto thought hard about this predicament. On one hand, he could just leave and go to the spirit world where he would wait for his Kyuubi before facing Judgement. On the other hand, he could stay and live in his counterpart's place, which wouldn't be so hard since he and the other Naruto practically have similar souls. Spreading his chakra outward, he felt the entire mindscape of his counterpart begun to react to his whim. The farthest of his own chakra tendril could already feel some sense of the outside world. He knew he could wake up anytime he wanted and his counterpart's body would accept him readily as it would this world's Naruto.

He turned towards the female Kyuubi and asked, "Hey, Kitsune, tell me about your vessel."

**"Why should I waste my time telling you anything, human?"**

Instead of taking offense, Naruto gave her a huge grin and said, "Because I have a deal for you."

* * *

Inuzuka Rin was just finishing her rounds at the hospital when she heard a noise at the end of the dark hallway of the third floor. Stepping out of the reception desk, she went towards the noise only to find a pitiful sight of a familiar 4 years old child, with bright purple hair, bright blue eyes, and with a crutch limping towards a familiar room just down the hallway from her own.

Namikaze Naomi, daughter of the Yondaime Hokage and her Jounin-sensei during her genin days, had been suffering from a chakra disease that had killed her father five years ago. Despite looking like a very cute four years old, she is actually seven years old going eight. But her disease had halted her physical and mental growth development and would soon destroy her chakra coil system, thus killing the poor child. As of now, her disease had made her body so weak and brittle that her bones could brake even with a mere application of pressure on them. Her immune systems are almost none existent which makes her very receptable to other diseases, which is why she had spent half of her life in this hospital. And her muscles had stopped growing, making any movement for her a huge struggle.

Rin immediately went to her and kneeled in front of her as she said in a calm sweet voice, "Naomi-chan, you know you're not allowed to walk by yourself. So what are you doing walking alone at night?"

Naomi grinned at her cutely, her golden blond hair and cute blue eyes making the poor nurse almost shout 'kawaii' and hug her like a stuffed teddy bear, and said, "But, Rin-nee-chan, I just wanted to visit my Onii-chan again."

Rin managed to stop herself from sighing outwardly. She doesn't know how such a sweet little girl could have such a spoiled older brother like Namikaze Naruto. The young boy used to be so nice, but right after the death of his father, the Yondaime Hokage, he had gotten involved with the wrong sort of crowd. He became such a problem child, pulling dangerous pranks, insulting people lesser than him, and demanding what he want by telling people he should have what he want because he is the son of the Yondaime and the hero of Konoha, due to the fact that he keeps the demon fox locked up inside him. And the Council pretty much bails him out every time he gets caught, which had spoiled him even more.

Naomi and Naruto's mother, Namikaze Kushina, had really tried to keep her son in line but she barely had time for her son since her daughter needed constant attention. And being in constant disagreement with the Council doesn't help her disposition either. There was even a rumor that the Council had demanded to dissolve the title of Hokage because the Sandaime failed to protect Konoha's hero from a rogue ninja attack last month, which had caused Naruto to go into a comma. But such rumor had never been proven true since the Sandaime is still in office.

Rin was already planning to tell Naomi that she should be in bed and just visit her brother tomorrow. But when she look at her, the little girl had initiated the PDE (Puppy Dog Eyes) attack on her, which when combined with the little girl's natural cute-factor, could be considered as a deadly weapon. And Rin just got the full blast of such a dreaded attack. "Okay, Naomi-chan. But afterwards, you'll go straight to bed, alright."

"Yey!" Naomi cheered as the nice nurse help her walk towards her older brother's room. But when they got there, both girls got the surprise of their lives. The young blond boy, who was said to never recover from his coma, was sitting by the window ledge, looking at the night stars. "Onii-chan!" Naomi squealed happily upon seeing her brother up and about.

Rin almost took a step back when the blond boy finally turned towards them. She had never seen such intensity in those blue eyes of his before, which was solely directed at the happy little girl. It is as if the nurse got caught in a blast of silent emotion radiating from the young boy.

Namikaze Naruto walks slowly towards them, his eyes never leaving his sister's face. There seems to be so much emotion dancing in his eyes at the moment. And all of them directed at his sister.

Naomi, on the other hand, who doesn't even seems to notice the conflicting emotions on his brother's eyes, merely smiled at him happily and put her arms forward, silently telling his brother to carry her, like he did before father died.

Rin pitied the little girl even more for her actions. For years now, Naomi would always do this gesture to her brother only to be neglected as if she was nothing. Her brother Naruto had never indulged Naomi in anything ever since their father died. He always said it would make him look like a sissy. But Naomi never faltered. She would do this despite getting nothing in return.

Rin was about to reprimand the little girl when the most unexpected thing happened. The boy had given his sister a genuine smile and picked her up gently in his arms, hugging her close to him as if he had just met her for the first time in his life. "Tadaima, Naomi-imouto-chan." (I'm home, my dear sister Naomi)

Naomi squealed in delight, she knew that if she keeps on trying, she would be rewarded one day. Naruto, on the other hand, savored the feeling of having a true blood relative in his arms. He never had the chance to have any true family so it wasn't a surprised to him when tears of joy started flowing down his face. Both siblings were just too happy to have each other, one after years of neglect while the other throughout his entire life, that they didn't even noticed when Rin started running heading towards the nearest telephone to contact some people.

* * *

Namikaze Kushina, a 29 years old chunin teacher at the Shinobi Academy was leaving behind a huge dust cloud as she dash towards the ninja hospital with speed that would put her late husband's Body Flicker Technique to shame. The 5'7" slim, brown haired, blue eyed kunoichi had, barely fifteen minutes ago, received a call from her friend at the hospital. If it weren't for the huge stock of paper works she had from the academy, she would have been at the hospital hours ago. And now, it seems like her son had miraculously reawakened from a coma everyone thought he would never wake from and that he seems to be bonding with his sister.

She really want to get her hopes up but it had been five years since Naruto had done any type of bonding with his sister Naomi. She had to make sure that it would be just a spur of the moment thing or it might break poor Naomi's heart.

She reached the hospital five minutes later and quickly run up towards her son's room at the third floor. She barely gave her friend Rin a wave before she rushed towards the door. When she got there, she heard something she haven't heard for a few years now. Laughter. She could see Naomi sitting on Naruto's lap, laughing as her brother was making goofy faces at her while telling her some kind of funny story. Her son was laughing too, and seems to be genuinely enjoying himself with Naomi's company, like they used to before her husband died from that chakra disease.

"Naruto-kun?" Kushina said, her voice so soft that it was almost a whisper. She just stood there, praying to all the Kami out there that this wasn't a dream.

Both children turned to her. Naomi squealed like she always does and waved at her happily. Naruto, on the other hand, seems to have a shock look on his face as he stared at her. If she didn't know any better, she would have told herself that her son had just saw her for the very first time in his entire life and was trying to imprint every little thing about her into his mind.

Then, finally, he smiled at her, a truly genuine smile, and said, "Hi there, okaa-san. Tadaima."

She couldn't stop herself anymore. She immediately went towards her children and gave her son a very tight hug that almost broke his ribs. "Oh, my darling Naruto. You're awake! Thank Kami you're back!"

"O-okaa-s-san. . . a-air." Kushina immediately loosen her hold, allowing Naruto to breathe once more. When he returned the hug, he gave her a smile.

"Family Hug!" Naomi shouted cheerfully as she joined her mom and brother in another bouts of hugs.

Rin, who was watching from the door, couldn't help but smile at the touching scene. She gave the family one last smile before quietly closing the door so they could have some privacy.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX


	3. Getting Home

DATE RE-STARTED: January 30, 2010

TITLE:

GENRE: Dimension-Travel Action/Adventure/Romance

SUMMARY: After a final attempt to turn the tides of war against an Orochimaru, Naruto suddenly woke up in a Konoha where the villagers saw him as a hero but all his precious people only saw him as a spoiled brat and a nuisance. But the biggest surprised of all is that a mother he had never knew was alive, and that he also has a younger sister with a terminal illness. Can he cope with this new world before him? Can he regain the trust of his precious people once again? And would he be able to defeat the Orochimaru of this world?

**CHAPTER 2**

Naruto stared at the white ceiling of his hospital room unable to sleep. Sleeping beside him is his sister, who had gone to sleep a few hours ago, still hugging him, while they were talking about the good old days, particularly when Namikaze Minato, Naruto's father, was still alive. It had been a subtle way of getting more information about this world as they reminiscences about the past, and he had enjoyed it quite a bit.

He glanced at his mother who was sleeping peacefully at a nearby couch, a smile adorning her beautiful face.

-----Flashback (a few hours ago)-----

_"M-Mother?"_ Naruto had said quietly a few hours ago, just after Naomi fell asleep.

_"Yes, son?"_ She had asked calmly. He seems to be nervous about something, as if he had done something bad and felt guilty about it. Reassuring him, she held his hand and smiled at him warmly, edging him to continue.

"I-I want to. . . to apologize. I know I haven't. . . I haven't been the best of sons since father died." She was about to reprimand him gently, that it wasn't his fault, but her son had cut her off and added softly, "Please, mom, let me finish."

Sighing in defeat, she gave her son a smile before nodding.

He gave her a small smile and said, "I know that it hasn't been easy for you, especially when Naomi's chakra disease started to worsen, and me adding to the problem. I mean, uh, well . . . you see, er, I . . ."

Kushina couldn't help but smile as her son begun to stutter, despite how hard he tried to be serious. Her husband had never been good at being dramatically sincere, he would always end up screwing around at the end. And it seems that her son had inherited the same trait.

"Damn!" Naruto cursed before sighing in defeat. "I guess I'm not really good with all this mushy stuff."

His mother merely smiled at him and gave him a hug. "Don't worry, dear. You're father wasn't much of a charmer either when he's seriously thinking about it. But when he does it unconsciously, you could be sure the girl would melt like putty in his hands. I remember that time when he tried to cook something exotic for our dinner date and managed to burn his kitchen instead. And when we failed cleaning it up, we just ended up in a food fight. Pretty soon, we were rolling in the kitchen floor, food all over us, literally. Then, one thing lead to another and we found ourselves making hot, sweaty,"

"MOM, PLEASE!" Naruto said louder than he intended, immediately stopping his mother from divulging such things about his parent's sex lives. Just the thought of his parents doing the nasty made him shiver. "Too much information!"

Kushina pouted but she didn't add more about that particular story. Instead, she gave her boy another hug and said, "I'm just glad I have our family back. It's been years since we had anything resembling a happy family."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Naruto said sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head.

"Don't worry about it, honey. And I'm sure your sister had never once thought anything less of you."

"Speaking of Naomi," At this, Naruto's face became all-serious, almost giving Kushina a shock at her son's sudden change of facial expression. "Okaa-san, can I get access to dad's personal library?"

Kushina was surprised at the request. Naruto hadn't entered his father's personal library ever since his father died. In fact, he was almost always trying to stay away from places that reminds him greatly of his father. And since Minato and Naruto had spent quite a lot of time in there doing research and stuff, Naruto had stayed clear of it. "Sure, dear. But why?"

"I think dad was working on something, a new seal of some kind that might fix Naomi's chakra coil system. He just never got to finish it. I just thought, that maybe, I could find a way to finish it."

Kushina knew perfectly well what Naruto was talking about. Her husband had suffered from over-exposure to the red chakra of the Kyuubi no Kitsune when he used the Shiiki Fuujin Technique to seal the fox into Naruto eleven years ago. Having Minato's's chakra coil system contaminated with that of the demon fox had slowly destroyed it. Such contamination was passed onto Naomi when she was born four years later. Her husband had been trying to come up with a variation of the Shiiki Fuujin Seal that would filter the fox's chakra in Naomi's body which would allow it to mix with his daughter's own chakra without destroying the little girl's coil system. But he never got to finish it since he died two years later, leaving instructions to his wife to give a copy of his research to his predecessor, the Sandaime Hokage, in hopes of finding someone to finish his work for him to save his daughter's life.

The Sandaime had done everything within his power to find trustworthy people to finish the research but no one seems to have been able to find anyone who could figure out a solution. Not even Jiriaya, a renowned seal master, was able to figure out how to make it work. According to the Sandaime, Jiriaya is constantly searching around the entire Shinobi Continent looking for someone who could finish the seal.

She couldn't help but give him a sad smile knowing that he might never figure it out before Naomi succumbed to her disease. But still, if it would make her son happy, then she would allow him access to his father's library. "I'll give you the key to his personal library as soon as we get home. But, Naruto-kun, just try not to be too disappointed if things doesn't turn out as you hope it would."

"I'll find a way to save her, mom. It's a promise of a lifetime." Outwardly, Naruto merely nodded his head and smiled. But inside, he was smirking. He didn't took Jiriaya's title of Sannin by having it handed to him. He had worked hard for it, surpassing his teacher's skills and power, including the super-pervert's Mastery of Seals.

-----End Flashback-----

Naruto glanced at her sleeping sister whose head is peacefully resting on his chest. He gave her one of his genuine smiles. He knew that his plan to cure her have a fifty-fifty chance of success. But the alternative of watching her dwindle and die by the time she reach ten years of age had squashed all doubts of not continuing with the plan. He would make sure his sister survive even if he have to die in the process.

_**'You seem to be quite attached to them already, considering you knew them for barely a few hours.'**_ Came a female voice in his head.

_'That I am, Kitsunei. I've always dreamed of having a family. And now that I have them, I'll make sure to protect them with my life.'_ He answered mentally. Allowing the fox to mentally talk to him whenever she wanted was just one of the few deals he had made with her.

_**'You are far stronger than my previous vessel. He was a sniveling coward, a pathetic excuse for a human worm. Unlike you, he had never truly believed my presence within him, telling himself that I never truly existed, that all those people around him were fools to believe that such a great being as a demon fox was trapped in his belly. And when he finally got to face me, his soul fled screaming, leaving his own body behind to wither and die. Maybe that is why his soul and mine never gotten a chance to merge for even just a bit. And why I wasn't automatically allowed to follow him to the spirit world.'**_

_'I don't know if I would have eventually ended up just like him if I have been born in this world. Despite my rough life in my own world, I was grateful for the experiences that allowed me to become what I am today.'_

_**'Yes. Growing in a hate filled environment, struggling to find those very few people you considered precious, and valuing there lives more than your own. You were forced to become strong as fast as you can just so you can protect those precious people, which, strangely, includes your demon fox, allowing your souls to merge at such an extent that you are almost two entities and one soul.'**_

_'There is nothing strange about me and my Kyuubi bonding. We had gone through so many battles where we were forced to combine both our mind and bodies just to stay alive. I have come to understand him as he had come to respect me. And soon enough, he would arrive here.'_

_**'And how exactly do you plan to accommodate having two demon foxes in your body? Such a strain on your body would kill you, no matter how strong you become in such a short amount of time.'**_

At this, Naruto gave the fox a mental smirk before saying, _'I'm not. By the time my Kyuubi arrives, you would be someone else's problem.'_

_**'What is that supposed to mean, human?'**_ she growled threateningly at him.

_'A split seal. Then, if possible, Complete Demon Transfer.'_ The female fox was about to demand some answers but Naruto had cut her off immediately and said, _'First off, I am planning to split my seal and share it with my sister, giving you two vessels instead of one. You will fix my sister's chakra coils system and optimize her physical and mental growth, preparing her to accommodate all your chakra. Once my Kyuubi comes, you will be forced to transfer your consciousness and all your chakra to my sister. After that, I could complete the seal on my sister allowing your complete transfer to her body. But none of this would be possible if you don't comply willingly.'_

The Kitsune scoff and said, _**'And what makes you think I would be willing to transfer myself into such a weak container?'**_

_'Many reasons. One: the Split Seal would allow you partial freedom. Two: my sister isn't weak. It was your own chakra that is slowly destroying her coil system. Once you repair it, she would be more than adequate to hold all of your powers since she is already familiar with your demon chakra. Three: as you said, my body wouldn't be able to hold the chakra of two demon foxes, which would then kill me, and you as well. Four: Naomi is a girl'_

_**'What does that have to do with anything?'**_

_'A lot. Gender plays a big factor in the Sealing process that is why my counterpart was never able to bond with you. If you and my sister ever decide to work together, you two could wield your chakras much more efficiently, thus providing much more power.'_ Here, he paused, his face contorting such seriousness than ever before. _'And lastly, if you do not comply and allow my sister to die, I shall _**destroy**_ you to the point that you would _**seize to exist**_.'_ At this statement, Naruto had let his own chakra burst forth inside his mind, easily surpassing that of the female Kyuubi's total chakra at her weakened state.

Kitsune couldn't help but be intimidated. She knew this Naruto would make good on his promise. And in her current state, she knew she would lose if a battle broke out. Besides, her survival is too dependent on him at the moment. _**'Fine, human. You have a deal. But do not think that I would not smite you given half the chance.'**_

At this, Naruto smirk. _'Fine by me, Kitsune.'_

Finally, he felt the female fox, which he dubbed with the name Kitsune, receded into the back of his mind. When he felt that he was truly mentally alone, he glanced at both his sister and mother and saw to see the effects of his sudden burst of chakra a few minutes ago. He could see that both of them seem to have sprouted a small smile on their faces, telling him that they subconsciously trust him too much to fear such awesome power inside him. If they didn't, then his chakra burst would have been similar to a mild dose of Kanishibari no Jutsu (Killer Intent Technique). Such is the effects of his mixed chakra: deadly to his enemies, and soothing to his precious people.

Smiling at his family one last time, Naruto finally closed his eyes and went to sleep, dreaming that tomorrow he could explore more of this wonderful alternative world, and too happy at the moment to notice the suppressed chakra of an ANBU guard hanging just outside the window.

* * *

The female ANBU wearing a dog mask was quite bored at the mission given to her personally by the Sandaime. If it wasn't for her faithful dog companion, a huge brown husky named Torumaru, she would have left her post hours ago.

She couldn't help but think why the Hokage had such an interest at the boy. Sure the kid was the son of the Yondaime, but all his life, he was nothing more than a useless, spoiled brat that the Council usually used his fame as a tool to boost their own image to the public. But still, there wasn't really anything special about the kid, barring the fact that he holds the dreaded Kyuubi no Kitsune inside of him. The only time the Kyuubi's chakra had ever manifested itself was a month ago when he was attacked by a rogue nin. But instead of fighting back, the kid fainted at the first sight of his own blood. He's been in a coma ever since. And now, the kid is awake. He seems to be more mellowed out than he used to.

She was in a middle of stretching her limbs when she suddenly felt a huge burst of unknown chakra coming from inside the kid's room. She stiffened. It was localized but also so strong. It made her sweat cold. Almost every fiber of her being was affected. She maybe only twenty two years old but she wasn't too young to forget where she had felt such a strong chakra before.

It was the Kyuubi's, but at the same time, it was not. She was getting mixed signals from it. For one thing, its degree of power scared her shirtless. And yet the killing intent she felt from it wasn't evil. Malevolent, huge, and downright frightening, but not evil.

When she slips down the wall to look inside the window, she was surprised to see the young blond boy dimly lighting the whole room with a faint red and blue glowing chakra. And the strange thing is, the kid's parent and sister don't seem to be affected at all. As if the mixed chakra was soothing them in their sleep. Then suddenly, the mixed chakra disappeared and the boy went to sleep.

She watch for a few minutes more until she was sure all occupants in the room was asleep before climbing up back to the roof, where Torumaru was waiting for her.

The dog bark at her once and she nodded at him before saying, "Yes, I can still feel the lingering effects of the chakra myself."

"Arf!"

"Yes, you're right. We should report immediately to the Hokage." And with that, she jumped off the roof and went straight to the Hokage Tower to file a report of the first controlled manifestation of Kyuubi no Kitsune's chakra since its demise in the hands of the Yondaime eleven years ago.

* * *

The Sandaime Hokage was in a quandary. It hasn't been more than a day since the reawakening of his successor's son but the reports coming in have been getting weirder by the hour.

Just last night, Namikaze Naruto had miraculously awakened from a comma that was said to be impossible to do. And according to the nurse who witnessed it, he seems to have gotten a total attitude change. _'It's like he had just met his own family for the first time in his life.'_ The nurse had said, according to the ANBU he had ordered to investigate.

A few hours later, Inuzuka Kyoko, the ANBU in charge of guarding him that night, had reported that Naruto had eventually called forth the Kyuubi's chakra in the middle of the night, which worried him a bit.

Then, in the early morning, Tekado Sasaki, a pompous rich businessman and member of the village council, had rudely barged into the room to welcome back Naruto to the land of the living. Knowing him, Takedo must have barged into the boy's room unannounced, escorted by at least half a dozen guards as if royalty, and started congratulating 'Konoha's Little Hero' while rudely ignoring the boy's mother and sister.

According to reports, Naruto had taken offense of the pompous businessman and had hit him with such a powerful revision of Kanashibari no Jutsu that the man, as well as all of his guards, had the living daylights scared out of them.

_"Councilman Sasaki was in a middle of his speech and had said something about the kid's mother not being a responsible parent when he finally let lose such a powerful killing intent that it had rendered the old man and his bodyguards absolutely scared shitless before the kid had ordered them to leave with such a cold voice. The killer intent was so strong that it even had me scared stiff, and I was observing secretly from a tree twenty meters away." _Was the report he got from another ANBU he had ordered to guard him. When the Hokage had asked if it was a Kanashibari no Jutsu, the ANBU had shook his head in negative and said, _"No, Hokage-sama. I don't think it is because Naruto-san's mother and sister weren't affected by the killing intent at all. And Kushina-san was standing next to Sasaki at the time, trying to tell him off."_

That had worried the Hokage a great deal. No one had ever heard a Kanashibari no Jutsu at such a high degree that specifically picks its targets within the range of the caster. It's simply impossible.

And now, he's forced to attend an emergency council meeting discussing the said demon vessel, and why, according to Councilman Sasaki, Namikaze Naruto should be put under 24 hours ANBU watch because demon fox seems to have started breaking out of him.

"Don't be ridiculous, Councilman Sasaki. Naruto-san must have just been a bit too emotional at the time considering he had just woken up from a comma. The Yondaime Hokage had assured us time and time again that the seal that holds the demon fox will never break." Hyuuga Hizashi said.

Idekura Kawaki, another one of those pompous, snobbish, council members, who thinks more about his public image than the village itself said, "And just to assure you, I would personally go and visit Naruto-san to wish him a speedy recovery. Why, we could even make it a public event by inviting most of the villagers to pay witness when we escort him out of the hospital and back to society that had missed him dearly."

Two other council members had input on their own plans concerning 'Konoha's Little Hero' as a tool for some publicity stunt while Sasaki, who was clearly ignored, kept whining about the boy being a threat to the village.

Throughout all this, only the shinobi council members and one other civilian council thought that this meeting was just a waste of time, and that includes the twin brother of the Hyuuga clan head, the Ino-Shika-Chou trio, his old teammate Homura, Inuzuka Tsume, the old warhawk Danzou, Aburame Shibi, and the civilian master blacksmith Ishibara Kenji.

The Hokage, who had kept his silence throughout the entire meeting, merely watch as the council members fight among themselves, getting a headache in the process.

An hour later, when the council was finalizing the plan of personally welcoming Naruto back to the village as soon as he's let out of the hospital, an ANBU had silently entered the room and whispered something to the Hokage, who, all of the sudden, sported a huge grin on his face.

Seeing that grin, all council members suddenly went quiet and stared at the Sandaime, waiting for him to share the news that had put such a grin on his usually stoic face.

When the Sandaime was sure that all eyes were on him, he smirked and said, "Well, it seems like a public welcome for the return of Naruto is impossible now. As of half an hour ago, the hospital had given their approval of letting Naruto, along with his sister, to leave the hospital. And if my guess is right, then they should be arriving at their home right about now."

"B-but that's too soon!" yelled a shock council member. "The boy just woke up from a month long comma. How could the doctors just let him go like that?"

"And besides, his sister should still be confined there." Kawaki said indignantly.

"Actually, Namikaze Naomi has been cleared to leave the hospital days ago but decided to stay with her brother, and Kushina-san agreed so she can watch over both her children better." The Hokage said.

Those same council members immediately voiced their complaints about how the hospital staffs weren't doing their proper job, that is until Hizashi had asked the Hokage, "How exactly did Kushina-san convinced the doctors to let her son go?"

The Hokage turned his head towards the ANBU that had reported to him, giving him the silent command to answer them.

The jounin stepped forward before saying, "Actually, sir, it was Naruto-san who had requested to be let out of the hospital saying something about having a lot of research to do. When the hospital staff tried to argue that he still needs a few days confinement, Naruto-san, he, uh,"

When the ANBU trailed off, seeming to be unsure of himself, the Hokage said calmly, "Please continue. What did Naruto-san do?"

Still a bit unsure of himself, he continued on and said, "Naruto-san punched a new door through a wall, jumped off from the third floor via the newly made hole in the wall with his sister, and roof hop towards their home followed by his mother."

The silence that followed was absolute. All council members, as well as the Hokage, were quietly trying to decide whether to believe what they heard or not.

Yamanaka Inoichi decided to break such silence by saying, "Are you telling me, that an eleven year old boy, who had no previous shinobi training and had just reawaken from a month-long comma, had punched a hole through a concrete wall big enough for him, along with a passenger, to jump through, and that the same boy started jumping from roof to roof to get home?"

"Hai, Yamanaka-dono." The ANBU said awkwardly after a few seconds.

The room erupted into whispers as the council members try to make their own assumptions on the boy and what could be done about it, while Sasaki was sprouting that he was right all along.

"This is troublesome news indeed." The Hokage murmured mostly to himself.

"What are you planning to do about it, Hokage-sama? Should we put him on ANBU surveillance?" Akamichi Chouka asked silently.

"That won't be necessary, Chouka. Knowing Kushina, she would refuse all visits made to their home until she and her children gets to settle down once more. And she is adamant about her family's privacy in their own home so unless I send an ANBU commander to spy on them, she would find them and make sure they stay away from her home. So I think I shall give them a week before making a visit."

"Shouldn't you be able to convince her to see you sooner?" Hizashi asked again.

At this, the Hokage gave the Hyuuga Clan Head's twin a chuckle. "I daresay, Hizashi-san, that you don't know Kushina-chan as much as I do. She have always hated politics so you rarely ever see her at the Hokage Tower. Her children would always come first, her superiors second. That is why she had loathed the council for trying to use her son as a tool to boost their public image." He whispered so only Hizashi may hear.

Hizashi merely nodded and joined the Hokage as they watch the rest of the council argue upon themselves.

* * *

_'Damn! I really need to get this body back into shape.'_ Naruto thought as stretch his aching limbs before browsing through another scroll inside his father's personal library. His sister, who had quite a lot of fun getting carried by his older brother as they jump over Konoha's roof tops, is now sleeping on a small couch in the room while his mother is busy making lunch for them in the kitchen.

Expect being livelier because of people actually living here, the Namikaze Clan House was the same as the one in his world so it wasn't hard for him to navigate through the house.

According to his counterpart's memories, the only difference between this world and his own is the Kyuubi being female rather than male. Such a thing as the gender of a demon may seem insignificant but it had made such a huge difference in the events that followed the Kyuubi's demise.

As he said before, gender serves a huge factor in sealing processes. Because the Yondaime had sealed a female demon into a male vessel, the process had not killed him instantly; it merely contaminated his chakra coil system until its destroyed six years later. When his mother found out that her husband is alive, she managed to pull through her ordeal of going premature labor instead of dying because of sorrow. Since his father managed to live six more years, he managed to convince the village that his son is not the Kyuubi itself but a mere vessel and a sacrificial hero of Konoha. Despite his chakra disease, he and his wife managed to fool around and conceive another child, Naomi. When Minato died, Naruto's counterpart was devastated enough to let himself get tricked by the council to be used as a tool to boost public image. They had spoiled him and get him anything he asks for, and in return they got him to do what they want like a puppet on strings.

After browsing through another scroll, he sighed. He then stretched his limbs once more since it was starting to cramp. He knew he shouldn't have forced his body too much right after waking from a coma but he really needed to start on researching how to perform the Split Seal. He already knew the basic theory behind it, all he has to do now is figure out a way to perform it.

_**'It seems you're in quite a hurry to get rid of me, human.'**_ Came the female voice in his head.

_'Not at all, Kitsune. I just want to cure my sister as soon as possible. Besides, if we don't managed to split the seal with her, you won't have enough time to prepare her to accommodate you within the three months period. If my Kyuubi arrives before that happens, the chakra overload will kill both you, me, my sister, and Kyuubi. And I also need to get into shape to survive accommodating him again. He is much more powerful than you since he now have the same mixed chakra as mine.'_

_**'YOU LIE! NO OTHER BEING CAN BE MORE POWERFUL THAN ME!'**_The Kitsune roared in rage.

_'If you ever get to synchronize your chakra with that of my sister's, you'll see what I'm talking about.'_ Naruto said, having not been intimidated at all by the demon fox. He merely continued to write notes on a spare scroll, already laying out the foundation for the Split Seal and the theories behind it.

"Naruto-kun, Naomi-chan, lunch is ready." Came the voice of Kushina from the doorway.

"We're coming, mom." Naruto went to her sister to wake her, but when he saw how peaceful looking she is at the moment, he decided to let her sleep.

"Mom, I let Naomi sleep in dad's library. Is that okay?" Naruto said as he entered the dining room and saw her mother preparing three large bowls of her special homemade ramen.

"Sure, dear. It would give the two of us a chance to talk."

Naruto groaned inwardly at her tone of voice. He knew she would be curious about his sudden knowledge of shinobi arts. Fortunately for him, he had already thought of a valid story. He just hope his mom, as well as everyone else, would believe him. "Sure, mom." He said as he sat down across from her.

There was an awkward silence as the two ate their lunch. Kushina kept giving her son a suspicious glanced every once in a while, while Naruto was too engross at savoring such a divine product of culinary masterpiece.

As soon as both of them were finished, Naruto needing to have more than four servings of the meal, the interrogation begun. "Now then, Naruto-kun, could you please tell me how you managed to acquire such a high caliber chakra control to do all those things at the hospital. Especially since you barely lasted at the ninja academy for six months before deciding to quit being a shinobi entirely." She asked in a calm voice.

"Mom, the only reason I quit the academy is because I don't like relearning stuff that I already know."

"What do you mean, dear?"

"Well, dad had been secretly training me by the time I was three years old. And by the time I was five, I already have below chunin-level theoretical knowledge of the shinobi arts, except for history, of course. That stuff just puts me to sleep. And also, I have a huge collection of dad's jutsu scrolls hidden in my room, which by the way, I have all mastered to a decent level after dad taught me all those chakra control exercises."

Naruto watched his mother intently as she processed the newly acquired information in her mind. She seems skeptical at first, but she later sprouted a smile and gave him a nod of agreement, believing his story to be true. "Very well. Is there anything else I should know about?"

"Well, um, I think I might have gotten some brain damage when that ninja tried to attack me."

In an instant, Kushina was by her son's side, her 'caring-mother' mode working overtime. "Does it hurt anywhere? Are you feeling alright? You aren't having any hallucinations are you? Should I bring you back to the hospital?"

"Mom, calm down. It's not life threatening or anything like that." It took a few minutes but he finally managed to calm her down. "I just have these blank spots in my memories. I don't seem to remember some things about everything. It's like, I remember the general information about people and events but I couldn't remember the more specific details about them. For example, I know the Sandaime Hokage had been helping out our family from time to time and that I had been a bit rude to him after dad died. But I can't remember much about the things I've said or done to him that would be considered rude."

"I see. What do you think we should do about it?"

"Just remind me some of the specific stuff I've said and done over the years. That seems to be the best solution I could come up with. Other than that, I just need help getting into shape. I've been neglecting my training for a few years too long."

"Very well, Naruto-kun. I guess the first thing we should do is get you back into the ninja academy by next semester. If your theoretical knowledge is as advanced as you say it is, I could advance you to a class where most of the kids are your age. How does that sound?"

"That would be great, mom." He said, hoping that he get to be in a class where his friends would be. Just the prospect of seeing his precious people once again reassured him that he had made the right decision to live the life of this world's Naruto.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A/N: Thanks everyone for the wonderful reviews. Check out my other works and tell me what you think.


	4. Shockwave

DATE RE-STARTED: January 31, 2010

TITLE:

GENRE: Dimension-Travel Action/Adventure/Romance

SUMMARY: After a final attempt to turn the tides of war against an Orochimaru, Naruto suddenly woke up in a Konoha where the villagers saw him as a hero but all his precious people only saw him as a spoiled brat and a nuisance. But the biggest surprised of all is that a mother he had never knew was alive, and that he also has a younger sister with a terminal illness. Can he cope with this new world before him? Can he regain the trust of his precious people once again? And would he be able to defeat the Orochimaru of this world?

* * *

**CHAPTER 3**

It's been five days since Naruto had woke up from his comma, and Kushina had never felt happier in her life since her husband died. Not only had she gotten her son back from what was supposed to be a fatal comma, but Naomi finally gained back a brother she always wanted. The only sad thing about this is, in a few years, Naomi's chakra coil system will collapse and she would die.

Before she could dwell further into her sad thoughts, she heard a knock on the front door. Pushing her previous thoughts aside, she went to answer it and was a bit surprised at seeing the Sandaime Hokage standing in front of the door. "Oh, Hokage-sama. Ohayo." She said with a bow.

"Ohayo, Kushina -chan. I'm sorry for appearing so suddenly. But I believe you already know why I am here for." He said apologetically.

Kushina sighed and nodded her head before letting the Hokage into her house. "At least you have the decency to wait unlike those bastards on the council."

"Yes. I had received the reports about how the more foolish members of the council tried to make a big commotion out of welcoming back Konoha's Little Hero."

At that, Kushina smirked and said, "Well, they sure got what they wished for, but not in a way they were expecting, that's for sure."

"Yes, I believe Councilmen Kawaki is still trying to salvage his reputation after Naruto's acting performance. But I don't know how much he could do being coop up in the hospital."

Kushina snorted at that and said, "I don't think there would be any reputation to save after being exposed as a pedophile in front of almost every civilian mothers in Konoha. Besides, it was Kawaki's fault for inviting all those women to bare witness to his so-called 'Mother's Touch' campaign."

Kawaki's Mother's Touch campaign consists of gathering all respectable and wealthy mothers in Konoha to personally give their congratulations and speedy recovery for Konoha's Little Hero. It would have boosted Kawaki's public image tremendously to the female population if it had worked.

Too bad it didn't.

Kawaki had arrived at the Namikaze Estate two days ago along with all those women behind him. He knocked gently at the door and was preparing himself to recite his long drawn speech when Naruto himself opened the door. But the young blond boy never gave him a chance to speak. As soon as the child saw who it is, he shrieked in fear and slammed the door on his face. After that, he shouted nonsense after nonsense about Kawaki being a closet pervert who like to ravish innocent young boys and that Naruto himself would never allow him to get into his pants. Kawaki tried to say it was nothing but lies but Naruto have superb acting skills no one knew about. Then, there were several other kids, mostly younger than 10 years of age, appearing behind the mob and confirming that Kawaki had indeed violated them. The little kids managed to convince everyone to gang up on the poor councilman, not giving him a chance to explain himself before getting beaten within an inch of his life.

Needless to say, Kawaki won't be able to get near any child without being mobbed by protective women in Konoha for a very long time.

"Anyway, I'm sure you have a ton of work left to do so we should really get this interrogation over with." Kushina said as she led the Sandaime inside her house.

"Interrogation is such a harsh word, don't you think, Kushina -chan?" The Sandaime said without malice.

Kushina had the decency to blush. She turned to the Hokage and offered him an apologetic look before saying, "Sorry about that, Hokage-sama. It's just, I'm still trying to adjust to my son's sudden change. I know it's quite a big deal, considering what's sealed inside of him, but my gut instincts is telling me that the Kyuubi has nothing to do with the change and that I should trust Naruto entirely. And you know how often I'm right about trusting my instincts."

The Sandaime nodded at that. Kushina's instincts had managed to save Konoha more than once. It was her who told Minato to seal the Kyuubi instead of trying to kill it entirely because her gut instincts told her the Kyuubi couldn't be killed. It was also her gut instincts that told her the ambassador from Hidden Cloud shouldn't be trusted. Her husband had ordered ANBU to keep an eye on the ambassador, who was caught a few days later by Konoha ANBU trying to kidnap Hyuuga Hinata before Hyuuga Hiashi could kill the kidnapper himself, thus preventing Konoha, particularly the Hyuuga Clan, from being put on the political hot seat.

"Whatever it is that caused my son's change, the Kyuubi had no hand in it whatsoever." Kushina continued.

"I see. At least that lessens my worries a bit. What is your suspicion about his sudden knowledge of ninja techniques."

"He told me his father had been secretly training him since he was three years old, which is very probable considering how passionate my husband is about being a ninja. I've checked his room and found his secret stash of jutsu scrolls under a mild genjutsu. All of them haven't been opened for several years now. I also found his jutsu notes and the last entry has been days before my husband died."

"So, are you telling me that the main reason Naruto turned his back on being a ninja, despite the fact that he was already quite efficient at it due to his secret training he undertook, is because of the death of the Yondaime?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but it seems to be the most logical explanation on his sudden change of attitude all those years ago. When his father died, a part of Naruto had died with him. And that near death experience a month ago had somehow helped him see things in perspective."

"Is that what you really think?"

"No." Kushina said quietly. When she saw the question on the Sandaime's lips, she cut him off and said, "But I don't think I could tell you my reason as of yet. All I ask is that you trust me that this change would be good for the village."

"Is that what your instinct is telling you?"

"Yes."

"Very well. Then I will not dwell further into his skills until such time it becomes relevant." The Sandaime said seriously, making his decision. Then he said in a more cheerful tone, "Where is Naruto, by the way?"

"I think he's sleeping in my husband's study at the moment. He'd been spending all his time there since we got home. He's been trying to finish Minato's seal for Naomi. But I'm not hoping for much since even Jiriaya-sama can't seem to figure out how to make it work. But he seems to be dead set on doing it."

"Maybe I should also take a look at his progress and see if he have something that might help my old student to crack that seal."

"I guess. I'll show you to the study room." She said as she lead the Sandaime to her husband's study. When she got there, she saw that both Naruto and Naomi were not there. "That's strange. I was sure they were just here an hour ago."

The Sandaime looked around the study and saw how messy it was. There were scrolls everywhere, and notes were posted at the walls. He walked towards the desk in the middle of the room and picked up one of more recently made notes, and then gasps upon reading the contents.

"What's wrong, Hokage-sama?" Kushina asked concerned.

The Sandaime didn't answer at first since he immediately went over to the other notes around the study and comparing it to the one he first read. Then, he turned towards the young woman and said in a grave tone, "This notes. The seals involve here are not meant to regulate Naomi's chakra system."

Kushina looked at the sample seals drawn in the scrolls and asked, "Then what are these seals meant to do?"

Kushina was about to ask what the seal Naruto was working on is for when a sudden burst of extremely powerful chakra wave hit them like a ton of bricks. Both Kushina and the Sandaime was floored by such a high amount of power this chakra had because both knew that these was the same chakra they felt eleven years ago during Kyuubi's attack. No doubt everyone else with in several mile radius felt the same chakra wave.

Did Naruto actually went and tampered with the seal? If he did, then it would be the best time for the Kyuubi to use this to escape and once more wreck havoc to the world.

As soon as the shock wave begun to die down, both shinobi rushed towards the source of the wave. Rushing through the village, it seems that no one was spared from the after effects of the shock wave. Almost every civilians, and quite a lot of shinobis who were old enough to be there during the Kyuubi's attack was panicking while those in the recent generations were quite curious and afraid of the strange chakra they have never felt before.

They arrived at the scene, which was a vast space of open land west of the village, to find other shinobis already there preparing themselves for the battle that might come. But instead of the vast grassland it used to be, it was now a giant circular crater approximately fifty feet in diameter and twenty feet deep. In the middle of the crater was a roaring tower of red chakra.

A shadow started moving from within the chakra fire itself. Konoha ninjas were already preparing to launch a hail of kunais at it when the Hokage immediately ordered them to stand down and wait.

The roaring tower of chakra begun to die down and the shadow was starting to take shape. Soon enough, the chakra disappeared and there in the middle of where it used to be stands a naked Namikaze Naruto. In his arms is his equally naked and unconscious sister, only, she doesn't look to be four years old anymore. Instead, she looks more like a healthy eight years old girl. But the most noticeable things about them are the Yondaime's Seals glowing in red and blue on their stomachs for everyone to see.

"Naruto! Naomi!" Came Kushina's concerned voice as she rushed towards her children.

"Mother, STOP!" shouted Naruto in concern, causing his mother to stop in her tracks. "Don't come any closer. You might get incinerated. It's not safe yet." As proof of what he said, a lone leaf blew towards him and landed in his shoulder. Seconds later, the leaf burst into flame and was nothing more than ash a second later.

"W-what's going on? What happened?" Kushina asked, fear and concern evident in her voice.

It was just then that the Sandaime arrived at her side. He put a hand on her shoulder to calm her a bit before turning towards the blond boy with a concern expression on his face. "Naruto-kun. Please tell me what you did and how long before the effects of whatever it is you did wears off." He said in a calm voice yet broke no argument.

"Hey there, Hokage-jiji. Haven't seen you in a while." Naruto said with a genuine grin, which actually surprised the old man since Naruto hadn't referred to him with such genuine warmth since the Yondaime's death, before saying, "I just shared Kitsune with her. Took a lot out of me since I had to release all of Kyuubi's chakra for a split second before resealing it for both me and Naomi. But now we wouldn't have to worry about her chakra coil system anymore since Kyuubi is on the job."

"W-what do you mean, son?" Kushina asked, a tinge of hope rising from her stomach.

"She's cured, mom. Naomi would be able to grow up normally from now on. Well, as much as any vessel for the most powerful of the Tailed Beasts would." He said sheepishly with a proud smile. Then, his knees buckled from the combined weight of himself and his sister. He could already feel the adrenaline leaving him, thus, forcing him to shiver from the sudden breeze of cold late morning air. It seems that the effects of the sealing have left Naomi as well when she started to shiver herself. He graced Naomi with a smile and tightened his hold on her to keep her warm. He was already breathing hard now, and his consciousness starting to leave him. So he turned towards the Sandaime and his mother and said in a cheerful voice, "I think it's safe to get closer now."

Kushina didn't need to be told twice and immediately rushed towards her children. She had tears of joy in her eyes as she took Naomi in one arm and gave her son a hug with the other, a hug which Naruto returned with equal vigor.

After a few moments of family bonding, Naruto turned a cheeky grin to the Sandaime and said, "Hokage-jiji, could you order someone to go and get a blanket or something. In case you didn't notice, I'm tired, cold, and wearing nothing but my birthday suit in front of the entire shinobi population of Konoha."

"Very well. Of coarse you do realize that we would need to talk about all of this later." The Sandaime said calmly. When Naruto gave him a nod, he turned to his subordinates and started giving orders.

Seeing that everything seems to be fine now, Naruto decided that it was just the right time to fall face first into the ground and let unconsciousness take him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The first thing Naomi saw when she opened her eyes was a dimly lit, damp, subterranean tunnel with red and blue pipes. She tried to remember where his brother went and how she got here. The last thing she did remember is her brother telling her last night that he finally found a cure for her and that she would need her to trust him. She gave him a nod that night and he drew some funny markings on her stomach with some red and black ink using a small brush. He said it was to help her get better. Then, bright and early the next day, he took her out of the village and performed a weird jutsu on her. The last thing she saw was a form of a large fox emerging behind her brother before she finally fainted.

And now, despite the fact that she found herself alone and in a strange place she'd never been to before, she felt quite relaxed here, as if she'd been to this place so many times before.

She tried standing up and was a bit surprised when she noticed that she seems to be a bit taller now. She looked at her hands and found them a bit bigger as well. She didn't even know where she got the plain yellow kimono with a white sash that she was wearing. Shrugging her shoulder, she started walking through the tunnels with no clear destination in mind. She didn't even noticed a yellow colored pipe starting to appear along the red pipes and the blue pipes.

It didn't take long for Naomi to arrive in front of a very large, majestically decorated, gold-plated bar gate. She tried touching the bars but they suddenly shifted away, letting her hand pass through the gate. Taking her hands back, the bars shifted once more, returning to their original form. She put her hands through again and the bars shifted once more. When she took her hand back, the bars returned to being solid again. After repeating the process several times, she paused and finally said, "This is fun!"

Putting on a mischievous grin, Naomi jumped towards the gate, hoping to catch the bars before they shifted. But the bars themselves seem to react faster than she does so she ended up falling face first on the ground on the other side of the bar.

"Owwie!" She said as she tried to stand up using one hand since the other one is busy trying to numb the pain on her nose.

"AHEM!" Came the impatient cough of someone in front of her.

When Naomi looked up to see who it is, she was awed at the sight of a very beautiful woman with vibrant red hair and ruby red eyes. She was wearing a crimson red kimono with black sash. But the most noticeable thing about her is the pair of fox ears on her head and nine furry foxy tails behind her.

"So, you are my new vessel." The fox lady said in a rather intimidating tone, flexing her claws as if readying to swipe her neck open to death with the slightest hint of disrespect. "Do you know who I am, child?" she asked royally.

Naomi blinked. Then she blinked again. She rubbed her eyes with both hands and stared at the fox lady up and down before blinking again.

The Kitsune smirked at the dumbfounded look on the human child's face. The little girl must have been stunned with awe at her presence. She was expecting this child to scream in fear, quake in fright, or even bow down before her magnificence. But she never expected the little girl to squeal, "KAWAII!" in delight and latch onto one of her tails.

The demon fox, the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the most powerful of all the Tailed Beasts, a being that has roam the world for more than 5000 years, face faulted. That's right, the fox managed to face fault at the cold hard ground because this single human girl had managed to surprise her so much that she momentarily lost all sense of self for a split second.

When she finally managed to get herself up, she saw Naomi playing with her tail and slinging it around her neck like a scarf. The Kyuubi admits that the little girl does look adorable being so clueless and innocent like that, but she immediately shook her head to get those thoughts out of her mind. She was about to reprimand the girl, painfully, but stopped at the sound of laughter in the immediate area. Turning around, she saw Naruto, in his eleven years old form, laughing himself to death just outside the gate.

She gave him a feral growl but Naruto merely brushed the silent threat off and cooed at her saying, "You gotta admit, Kitsune, the fox gears do make you look cute."

There was a threat and insult ready from the fox but Naomi managed to cut her off before she could voice it out.

"Naru-nii-chan!" Naomi shouted in glee as she run to her older brother's arm. "Look, onii-chan! That lady there has weird ears and tails. Can I have one too?"

The fox was glowering at the blunt disrespect she was receiving but Naruto merely gave her a smile before smiling down at his sister and saying, "You will, Naomi. But to get them, you have to work very hard, everyday, for several years. Also, you have to impress your new roommate since you'll need her approval if you want to get those ears and tails."

"Roommate?" the little girl asked.

Naruto nodded and turned towards the slightly curious fox lady, causing Naomi to turn to her as well. "Naomi, let me introduce you to Kyuubi no Kitsune, most powerful among the Tailed Beasts, and your new roommate for life." He knew he was laying it thick with the title but it seems to have the desired effect.

The Kyuubi puff her chest proudly and waited for the little girl's reaction at knowing that such a powerful being now resides inside her. But once again, the little human girl managed to surprise her.

"KIT-CHAN!" Naomi squealed in delight before glomping the fox lady by her belly and saying, "!"

The Kyuubi was dumbfounded, Naruto was laughing in hysterics, and Naomi was still saying 'please' over and over again. She growled at the laughing male and was just about to say no to the child glomping her when Naomi unleashed the dreaded PDE (Puppy Dog Eyes) no jutsu on her. Suffice to say, even the most powerful of the Tailed Beasts wasn't immune to such a dreaded technique.

"Fine, brat! If I find you worthy enough, I shall grant you those features." The Kyuubi said finally.

Naomi squealed in delight and gave her another crushing hug before going back to her brother and telling him how utterly cute she will be when she gets her fox ears and tails. Both Naruto and the Kyuubi tried to picture an energetic Naomi with the said fox features and agreed that she would definitely look cute with it. There's no doubt pending off boys would be a big problem when she grows up.

Naruto pat his sister on the head gently, stopping her delightful rant for the moment, and said, "Now then, Naomi-chan, I think it's time all three of us talk about what really happened and how things would be from now on."

"Okay, Naru-nii-chan." She said.

When Naruto saw the Kyuubi gave her consent as well, he snapped his fingers and a tea table with three chairs appeared out of thin air. As soon as all three of them are seated, the meeting begun.

Said meeting took a while.

* * *

Hyuuga Hiashi arrived in the hospital seeing the Hokage standing in the hallway in front of a room guarded by four ANBU. He knew that whatever it is the Hokage wanted with him, it had something to do with the Kyuubi's chakra wave that happened a few hours ago. He bowed respectfully at the Hokage and said formally, "I have come as requested, Sandaime-sama. What is it you need of me?"

"Ah, Hiashi-dono. I would like your expertise on looking at someone's chakra coil system with your Byakugan. I need total disclosure on this. No one is to know of the finding until my say so." The old man said in a very serious tone that hadn't been heard for years.

Hiashi managed to keep his surprise hidden behind his stoic face and said, "As you command, Hokage-sama."

At the Hokage's nod, both men entered the room to find Kushina sitting in a chair placed between two beds which contained her children.

Hiashi couldn't help letting out a gasp at seeing Namikaze Naomi in an eight years old body. Last he'd heard, Naomi's chakra disease prevented her body from developing past her four years old physical state.

"Hokage-sama. Hiashi-dono." Kushina greeted with a respectful bow.

"Kushina -chan, Hiashi is here to look at your daughter's chakra coil system to see if there are any problems."

"As long as I am privy to all information which concerns my children, then I don't see any problem." Kushina said in a stern voice.

"Agreed." The Hokage said before giving a nod to Hiashi.

The Hyuuga Clan Head stepped towards the unconscious girl and nodded at her mother before activating his Byakugan. He gasped once more upon seeing a modified Shiiki Fuujin on her stomach. He turned to the Hokage and started to ask, "Is that what I think it is?"

"Yes. The shockwave was a byproduct of the seal being split with Naruto's sister. Now, Hiashi-san, please tell us what you see." The Hokage ordered.

He turned back towards the girl. After studying her for a few minutes, he said, "Amazing! I can see the Kyuubi's red chakra within the seal but the seal itself is gradually changing her entire chakra coil system. Not only is it remaking it from scratch, it's making her coils wider, stronger, and overall more efficient. And the chakra she's giving off is not blue anymore, it's yellow in color."

"What does that mean? Is my daughter all right?" Kushina asked in concern.

"Do not worry, Kushina -san. As far as I can see, your daughter's body is reacting well to the yellow chakra. I suspect that it was the cause of your daughter's current physical state. All in all, I'd say that she's a normal, healthy, eight years old girl, barring the seal and the color of her chakra of course." Hiashi said before deactivating his Byakugan.

"T-then that means, she's cured! He did it. My son cured her!" Akane said, tears of joy flowing down her cheeks as she held her children hands in hers.

"Excuse me, Akane-san, but are you saying your eleven years old son did this seal? I find it hard to believe. The chakra requirements alone are tremendous, not to mention the precision of chakra control needed to perform such a task." Hiashi said, disbelief evident in his voice.

It was the Hokage who had answered for her and said, "Although it seems hard to believe, it was Naruto who modified Minato's unfinished seal and performed the sealing since, according to his notes, only the original carrier of the seal would be able to split his/her seal with someone else. I'm sure you know of that particular seal as well since I once asked your clan if you could make it work."

"Yes, I remember how much time the clan scholars spent trying to modify it but we never did." Hiashi then gave Kushina an apologetic look and said, "I am sorry my clan wasn't able to help you that time, Kushina -san."

"It's all right, Hiashi-dono. I appreciated your help nonetheless." Kushina said gratefully.

"I wonder how Naruto-san managed to split his seal?" Hiashi asked mostly to himself.

"Yes, I was wondering about that too. His notes on it mostly consists on the general effects of the seal, but he didn't write down the specifics." The Sandaime said.

"Where are those notes now, Hokage-sama?" Hiashi asked, genuinely curious.

"They are still at the Namikaze Estate. I had two squads of ANBU guarding the place to prevent anyone from taking them." The Sandaime said. He then graced the two Namikaze children with a warm smile. "Well, I guess all we could do at the moment is wait for them to recover. Kushina -chan, I hope you wouldn't mind if I leave some of my ANBU here to guard you and your children."

"It's alright, Hokage-sama. And thank you." She said gratefully.

The Hokage gave her a smile and left along with Hiashi. Once she was alone, she glanced at her children and smiled, thinking of the future Naomi now have thanks to Naruto.


	5. Kidnapped

DATE RE-STARTED: January 30, 2010

GENRE: Dimension-Travel Action/Adventure/Romance

SUMMARY: After a final attempt to turn the tides of war against an Orochimaru, Naruto suddenly woke up in a Konoha where the villagers saw him as a hero but all his precious people only saw him as a spoiled brat and a nuisance. But the biggest surprised of all is that a mother he had never knew was alive, and that he also has a younger sister with a terminal illness. Can he cope with this new world before him? Can he regain the trust of his precious people once again?

* * *

**CHAPTER 4**

Nara Shikamaru walks solemnly inside the hospital with his father. Having walked through the same hallways for the past week, he knew exactly where to go, but it's still an unpleasant feeling knowing his destination.

When both Nara arrived at the ICU Section of the hospital, the first thing they saw was Yamanaka Inoichi watching through a glass observation window of the said room.

"How is she?" Nara Shikato asked as he put his hand on a haggard looking Yamanaka Inoichi's shoulder. Both men were looking through the looking glass of the ICU room where Yamanaka Ino was being tended by several medic nins and an elder Yamanaka, whom all specializes in mind jutsus.

"Still in a coma. The Kyuubi's chakra is still preventing us from entering her mind."

Shikamaru, looking through the same glass window, couldn't help but notice how different Ino looks at the moment. It was so strange to see the usually loud and bossy girl so quiet.

It has been a week since the Kyuubi's chakra wave. There were quite a lot of Konoha citizens that had been admitted to the hospital due to stress, strokes, and plain nervous breakdowns. But Ino is a special case.

**-----flashback (1 hour before the chakra wave)-----**

"Are you sure you're ready for this, Pumpkin?" Yamanaka Inochi asked as she leads his daughter towards the Yamanaka House's ceremonial chamber.

"I'm ready, Daddy!" Ino said with a determined look in her eyes.

Inoichi was proud that his daughter wanted to start on the family legacy a year earlier than expected, but he was also a bit disappointed at her reason for doing so.

The Yamanaka's Rite of Passage is a ceremony that every Yamanaka goes through in order to activate their Bloodline Limit. The process includes a senior Yamanaka member to jumpstart the younger one's brain so they could gain access to the Mind Arts, which is essential in learning Yamanaka Bloodline Limit jutsu.

Yes, Inoichi was proud of his little girl. He just wishes she wasn't doing this for the sole purpose of impressing her school crush. But still, he was grateful for giving her the initiative to learn more about her family's arts.

A few minutes later, father and daughter entered a small windowless chamber underneath the house. There was noting else in the chamber except for a rectangular mat in the middle of the floor, several lanterns by the walls, and lots of ofuda (designed to block chakra from entering the room) all over the walls and ceiling.

After closing the door behind them, Inoichi went through several hand seals to activate the ofudas, isolating the room from any outside chakra influences.

Since her father had already briefed her about the entire ceremony, Ino immediately sat Indian style on the mat in the middle of the room and started meditating to open up her mind. According to her father, this was the longest part of the ceremony, since opening one's mind could take hours.

Sitting in front of his daughter, Inoichi watched as his daughter scrunched up her face in concentration. Using a mind scanning jutsu, he saw that her daughter's mind is already starting to open up, but it would still take time for her mind to open up fully.

Almost an hour had passed before Ino's mind was ready. Going through several hand seals, the senior Yamanaka was preparing to send chakra to his daughter's mind when he felt the chakra wave before it hit, burning out all the ofudas around the room keeping foreign chakra out.

"INO!" Her father shouted in panic when the red chakra wav hit his daughter, slamming her against the far wall. A moment later, the chakra wave receded but the damage has been done. Checking his daughter, Inoichi saw that there wasn't much external damage done except for a slight concussion. But the real damage is done to her mind. Quickly going through several hand seals, Inoichi tried to enter his daughter's mind to repair any damage done to her, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get passed the red chakra surrounding her mindscape.

Having nothing else he could do, Inoichi picked up his daughter and ran towards the hospital.

-----End flashback-----

Shikamaru knows who's responsible, heck the entire village knew. Namikaze Naruto, or the Kyuubi Brat as most Leaf shinobi calls him, just had to tamper with the seal. Although he heard the rumors that the brat had a recent attitude adjustment, it was still quite irresponsible for him not to alert anyone of what he was planning, even if it was to cure his own sister of her chakra disease.

Eavesdropping on the adults' conversations, Shikamaru found out that the Yamanaka Clan's Rite of Passage, the trainee's mind is at his/her most vulnerable state and is quite prone to foreign chakra influence, and such influence as the Kyuubi no Kitsune's yokai could have devastating effects on such a mind. And now, several specialists on mind jutsus are gathered here to determine whether or not she could be saved or not.

Shikamaru wasn't a fool. Having an IQ of 200, he was aware of the fear that now resides in the village of Konoha concerning the Demon Fox. If Ino turns out to be influenced by the fox, then she could turn into a target of the Council's ire. If that happens, the best case scenario would be a swift death, otherwise she would be turned into some kind of lab experiment.

He wished he could do something, but what can he do. He's not even a genin yet and since the chakra wave a week ago, Namikaze Naruto had been under 24 hour surveillance under the ANBU. He desperately wants to have a talk with the brat so he could at least find out if the said brat could really control the Kyuubi's chakra, the same chakra that are preventing the medics from helping his childhood friend.

* * *

-----Inside Ino's Mindscape-----

"Help me! Somebody, please! Please, help me!" Yamanaka Ino had stopped running since she found herself trapped in this world of darkness and red. Everywhere she goes, there was nothing but darkness, that and the malevolent red chakra that had been slowly eating up everything. Very soon, everything would be consumed, including her.

Crying for her own helplessness, she sat down and hugged her knees to her chest. The red chakra was barely a few feet away from her now and there was no escape. With the last of her hope, she pleaded quietly into the void, "Please, someone, anyone, help me."

As if an answer to her plea, a giant orb of blue chakra suddenly emerged from the red. The orb put itself between her and the red around her, protecting her from the malevolent influence.

With renewed hope, Ino immediately latched onto the orb and let herself be absorbed into its blue depth, never realizing how it would change her life forever.

* * *

**BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!**

"What the hell?" The Bear ANBU, who's guarding the door to the Namikaze' room, asked in alarm as several explosions rocked the entire hospital just before he and his partner was hit by a shower of kunais.

As soon as the two guards hit the floor dead, four ninjas bearing the symbol of Iwakagure rushed inside the room, where another four Iwa shinobi awaits along with the corpse of two other Konoha ANBU.

"Phase one and two complete. Secure your packages and rendezvous at Root HQ." The leader ordered. In less than half a minute, both Namikaze children are held and secured in specially designed body sacks. With a wave of the leader's hand, two 3-man groups jumped out the window and rushed away two different directions with their two unconscious hostages.

The leader, along with another shinobi, proceeded with phase four of the plan, destroying the entire hospital to serve as a distraction to give the two groups enough time to escape.

Both shinobi were about to move when the door suddenly burst open and a young blue eyed, blond haired girl, wearing a hospital gown, walked slowly inside.

The leader tensed at the vacant look on the girls face. She wasn't even looking at him. She was looking at the broken window where group two, who have Kazama Naruto with them, had jumped through.

When the girl turned her blue eyes at him, the leader acted immediately and threw several kunais at her, only to be intercepted by the other shinobi's body.

The leader blanched at the unexpected action of his own subordinate, that is until he noticed the blond girl's outline on his subordinate. _"Fuck! She's a Yamanaka! She possessed my subordinate to save herself."_ he thought. Although, he never dreamed a girl her age was capable of such an advance technique.

The leader was already drawing another set of kunais before the other guy hit the floor dead. He was about to throw it when his entire body stiffened. Trying to find the source of his immobility, he saw a young boy with a pineapple like hairstyle, out the doorway on his knees with his hands forming a hand seal. "I don't really know what's going on but it would be quite troublesome if I let you hurt her."

Ino didn't even seem to notice her childhood friend saving her from death. She walked towards the immobilized leader and pointed a finger towards his face, particularly his forehead.

"P-package one through route 24-A, and package two through route 33-C. . . Root HQ Sector twelve at Konoha-Iwa boarder. . . Lighting Country . . . Kyuubi Vessel Experimentations. . . kidnapping to be blamed towards Iwagakure . . . Danzo-sama . . ."

Suddenly, the enemy shinobi started convulsing. Feeling his own body involuntarily convulse, Shikamaru called back his shadow technique just in time for the enemy shinobi to suddenly stop his convulsion and drop down the floor like a sack of potatoes with Ino following him in unconsciousness a second later. Luckily for her, Shikamaru was there to catch her before she fell.

Just then, the Hokage, along with several ANBU squad leaders, as well as Inoishi and Shikato, arrived at the scene.

"What the hell happened here? Ino! Is she alright?" Inoichi asked as he immediately went towards his daughter.

"Nara Shikamaru, can you tell me what has happened here?" The Hokage asked mildly. But there was no mistaking for the steel in his voice.

Gulping in nervousness for a moment, he started to say, "I was at the ICU room downstairs visiting Ino here when an explosion sounded all over the hospital. My dad went to investigate with Ino's father. A few minutes later, Ino suddenly woke up from her coma and started walking towards here. I followed her and saw the two bodies outside the door and an enemy shinobi taking the hits for her. I used the Kagemune no Jutsu to immobilize the ninja there. While I was holding him, Ino pointed her finger at the guy's forehead before he started convulsing. He mumbled phrases like 'package one through route 24-A, and package two through route 33-C. . . Root HQ Sector twelve at Konoha-Iwa boarder. . . Lightning country . . .Kyuubi Vessel Experimentations. . . kidnapping to be blamed towards Iwagakure . . . Danzo-sama . . .'. And then he fell unconscious. Then, you guys came."

One of the ANBU unmasked the two incapacitated shinobis. After going through several identification jutsus, he said, "Identity of Himena Shito, jounin of the ROOT Division, confirmed. Initial diagnosis shows extreme mind stress."

The Hokage nodded his head in confirmation before turning his eyes to the still unconscious Ino. If he guesses correct, then the young Yamanaka had used some kind of mind jutsu on the enemy. But considering her age and, at the moment, her non-existing knowledge on her family techniques, it was impossible for her to perform those said techniques, unless she was highly influenced by her father.

Putting those thoughts away for a moment, the Sandaime concentrated on the current crisis and said, "ANBU Team 1 through five, proceed with retrieval of both Namikaze Naruto and Naomi. Start with Route 24-A and 33-C. Yamanaka Inoichi, take Ino-san back to ICU and get her report on the scene as soon as she is able. Nara Shikato, bring Himena Shito to Ibiki and tell him to get everything he knows. Assist him if necessary. ANBU Team 6 through 9, head to ROOT ANBU headquarters and arrest Danzo for possible treason. Dog," A dog-masked female ANBU stepped forward. "notify Namikaze Kushina of what happened and make sure she understand that I am ordering her to head straight to me for further orders." Then he added mentally with a shiver, remembering the said woman's Tsunade-like strength when pissed, _"May Kami have mercy on their souls once she gets her claws on those people responsible for kidnapping her children."_

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED HERE? AND WHERE ARE MY KIDS?" came the intense voice of a woman behind them.

The Hokage Sandaime gulped silently upon seeing the irritated, yet, worried face of one Namikaze Kushina standing by the door. Thinking of the best way to handle the situation, the Sandaime decided to use his diplomatic voice and said, "Kushina-san, please calm down and,"

But the Namikaze matriarch cut him off and shouted furiously, "WHERE ARE MY CHILDREN?"

Everyone in the room took an involuntary step back from the enrage woman who's giving off enough killer intent to drown the entire hospital.

The Sandaime really hated doing this to someone he almost considers his own daughter but the situation seems to call for it. Standing his full height and giving off a burst of his own charka, he faced the enraged woman and said in his official-Hokage voice, "Namikaze-san, your children had been abducted by renegade ninjas."

Kushina gasped upon hearing that bit of news, concern for her children safety evident in her eyes. She was about to demand where they were taken but the Hokage cut her off and said in a menacing voice, "As leader of this village and everyone residing within it, I am ordering you under house arrest until this situation is resolved. I will not have an enrage mother make this already delicate situation worse than it already is. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?"

Kushina gasped upon seeing the old man she almost consider a father shout at her like that. Her already stressed mind, combined with the Sandaime's order preventing her from going after her children, just decided to snapped right there and then.

_"I am needed."_

"NO! I won't let you out! I sealed you away for a reason!"

_"Can you risk the safety of your children to others?"_

Kushina stayed silent, having no answer to that.

_"Remember, those children are as much mine as they are yours. I WILL assure their safety."_

With the last of her protests crumbling, she let herself fall back.

The Sandaime Hokage, already expecting what is to come, braced himself accordingly. He had already put up a hand telling all the ANBU in the room to stand down before they had a chance to react to the sudden pressure of chakra emitted by the now silent woman.

Every ANBU tensed when Kushina's brown hair suddenly started turning bright red. When she turned her now cold and calculating cerulean eyes once more to the Sandaime, she asked in a frozen cold voice, "Hokage-sama."

The Sandaime merely held his hand in the air telling his ANBU to stand down before turning towards the red head and saying, "Uzumaki Kushina-san, it's been a while."

Whispers emitted among the older ANBU members while the younger members were asking themselves where they heard the name before.

"I-is that really Uzumaki Kushina?"

"I thought Uzumaki-sama died in the Kyuubi attack?"

"Can she really be the famous Whirlpool's Empress of Storm?"

"E-Empress of Storm, you mean the same Empress of Storm that is said to have a confirm kill count second only to Yondaime-sama during the Leaf-Stone War?"

"Who would have thought the Empress of Storm would be Yondaime-sama's wife?"

"No wonder Yondaime-sama chose her as his wife."

Those who knew of the Empress of Storm exploits during the war were in awe at seeing the legendary ninja back to life, while most of the younger ANBU were skeptical about the short woman being capable of the things the veteran ninjas say about her. I mean, who would believe that the short, red-headed woman had single-handedly managed to stall five Iwa ANBU battalion from crossing through Fire Country's boarders for two whole days, having a confirm kill of seventy two Iwa jounins, before reinforcements arrived to finish the rest of them two days later?

Ignoring the whispers around them, as he was sure Kushina was doing, turned to the red-head's cold, calculating eyes. The Sandaime gave an internal sigh of relief when his gamble paid off in forcing Uzumaki Kushina back to the surface from where Namikaze Kushina had originally sealed her off inside her subconscious after the war. He just hopes he won't regret this decision in the future.

Everyone tensed when Uzumaki Kushina moved once more. She took one step towards the Hokage before kneeling down in front of him with her head bowed down and asking in that same cold voice, "What are my orders?"

The Sandaime eyed her for a moment before saying, "Retrieval of abducted citizens of the Leaf. Intelligence says that one is headed for the Iwa-Konoha boarder, route A-24. I will have someone else do the retrieval for the one heading for the Lightning country."

The Sandaime could feel her body tense involuntarily upon hearing that she could only go after one of her two children for the time being. Even if she managed to create a Kage Bushin strong enough to travel all the way to Cloud, the clone won't be able go against several Root ANBU without getting poof out of existence with a single lucky shot.

Contemplating the same conclusion, Uzumaki's brain went a hundred miles an hour thinking of the best possible way to ensure her other child's safety. Finally thinking of one, she raised her head and look directly at the old man's eyes before saying, "Dolphin and Weasel."

Whispers broke out from the ANBU in the room once more. The Konoha ANBU code name 'Dolphin' was another legend through out the ninja underworld. A newly instated ANBU who was thought to have been killed during an information gathering mission into Lightning country six years ago, only to re-emerged two years later near the end of Lightning country's bloody civil war. Rumors say that he was the one who fought and killed the corrupt and powerful Godaime Raikage in a battle that ended the said civil war. Nobody was sure what happened to him afterwards but rumor has it that he either retired as a civilian after he got back to Konoha or had migrated at the Hidden Village in the Cloud as one of the Rukodaime Raikage's top adviser.

The other, Weasel, is another legend in the ANBU. Uchiha Itachi, under the order of the Sandaime and the elders, had wiped out almost his entire clan to prevent a coup by the Uchiha that would have sent Konoha into civil war while under the disguise of Orochimaru. The only Uchiha he left alive are his mother, brother, and every child under the age of five at the time.

The Sandaime eyed her for a moment before saying, "You know perfectly well that Dolphin is retired and would likely refuse to carry out any mission given to him, even by me. And Weasel is in self-inflicted imprisonment."

"Tell Weasel that I am in need of him. As for Dolphin, tell him that Namikaze Kushina had lied two years ago, and the answer to his question is yes." She said in the same flat, emotionless voice.

The Sandaime, as well as the rest of the people inside the room, gave her a questioning glanced, but Uzumaki didn't elaborate more on it.

Giving her a nod, he said, "Very well. Perpetrators are ROOT ANBU disguised as Iwa nins. Proceed with your mission as you see fit. Use extreme prejudice if necessary. Squad one would serve as your back up until you reach the boarder. When you decide to pursue through Iwa territory, you will be on your own. Now go."

"Hai, Hokage-sama." Then, with in a blink of an eye, she was gone, vowing to succeed in this mission no matter what the cost. ANBU squad one followed her example a second later.

When she was gone, one of the younger ANBU squad leaders stepped forward and asked, "Sir, is it wise to let her go alone once she crosses the boarder? With this much head start, the perpetrators would reach the boarder in under a day."

The Sandaime sighed before saying, "I know. But knowing her, not even the threat of starting a new war with Iwa could stop her from pursuing her children's kidnappers when, not if, when they cross the boarder." Then he turned towards the rest of the people in the room and said in his official Hokage voice, "Squad two through eight, proceed to Root HQ and arrest everyone there for questioning, especially Danzo. Squad nine, proceed to route C-33. If the perpetrators manage to cross over the boarder, do not engage. You are to remain there until further orders."

"Hai, Hokage-sama." Once they were gone, the Sandaime turned to the only other person in the room and said, "Dog, get me the fastest messenger bird to Kumo we have and report to my office immediately."

"Hai, Hokage-sama." And she disappeared in a swirl of leaves.


	6. Akira, Sai, and Hikaru

DATE RE-STARTED: January 30, 2010

TITLE:

GENRE: Dimension-Travel Action/Adventure/Romance

SUMMARY: After a final attempt to turn the tides of war against an Orochimaru, Naruto suddenly woke up in a Konoha where the villagers saw him as a hero but all his precious people only saw him as a spoiled brat and a nuisance. But the biggest surprised of all is that a mother he had never knew was alive, and that he also has a younger sister with a terminal illness. Can he cope with this new world before him? Can he regain the trust of his precious people once again? And would he be able to defeat the Orochimaru of this world?

**CHAPTER 5**

"Sir, all floors above ground level had been searched thoroughly and was all found empty, as well as the two first sub floors. Team four had managed to locate the entrance to the 3rd and 4th sub basement and are now searching through them. So far, we encountered four ROOT ANBU and received only minimum damage before thwarting their ambushes." The ANBU lieutenant said to his white cloaked ANBU commander.

The commander nodded and asked, "Have there been any traces of Danzou?"

"None, sir. It seems they've already made plans to escape in case things don't go as planned. We're still trying to figure out how they managed to get all their forces out without us noticing."

Suddenly, their radio turned up and an urgent voice said loudly, "THIS IS SQUAD FIVE REQUESTING IMMEDIATE BACK UP AT THE FOURTH SUB BASEMENT! I REPEAT, SQUAD FIVE REQUESTING IMMEDIATE BACK UP! IT'S A WARZONE DOWN HERE!"

Acting immediately, both the commander and his lieutenant dashed towards the stairs heading for the sub basement. Once they got to the fifth level, they saw seven of their ANBU, three of which are from squad five while the rest are from squad four, fending off an entire room of black and white-colored animals, like tigers, eagles, dogs, lions, etc, attacking them. Not wasting any time, the commander drew his katana from his back and slashed an incoming lion, which burst into ink a second later.

Analyzing the scene, he noticed that some of the ink summon animals are converge on one spot at the other side of the room. That must be where the one controlling these things is. He also saw that three of his own ANBU have been pulled out from the fight by his lieutenant due to injuries. Turning back to his subordinates, he started making hand signs while he yelled, "Everyone, get back in my mark." Finishing the last seal, he then shouted, "Now!" before placing his palms on the floor.

As soon as the other ANBU leaped back, small wooden vines burst out of the ground impaling more than half of the creatures and turning them to ink. After that, the commander charged the spot where he thought the summoner is while his men charge at the remaining ink animals.

Slashing any animal that got in his way, the commander swings his katana with intent to kill, only to stop his sword when he finally got a good look at the ink summoner.

"A child?" he asked in disbelief seeing a raven-haired boy, maybe ten or so in age, standing in front of an unconscious wounded ROOT ANBU, with a scroll and ink brush in his hands.

The boy didn't even bat an eye at the blade mere half an inch from his neck. He merely gave the ANBU commander a blank stare. There was no emotion in the boy's eyes as far as the commander could see.

Thinking quickly, the commander slashed the scroll the boy was holding, unsummoning all the ink animals from the room. The boy's stare never wavered.

While the other ANBU went to see the condition of their fellow members, which got caught in the ink summoner's ambush, the commander studied the boy more carefully. There were no visible weapons on the boy except for that scroll that got slashed in two so he wasn't a threat anymore.

In all his life, never had he seen any child with total lack of emotion on their eyes. Is this what ROOT ANBU doing to their members, taking away all their emotions to be the perfect shinobi tools? Is this what Danzo was aiming for?

Shoving the thoughts of the emotionless boy aside for a moment, he started walking towards the wounded ROOT ANBU to examine him when the young boy suddenly stepped in front of commander, using himself as a shield for the wounded ROOT ANBU, the tiniest hint of anger now visible on the child's eyes.

The commander actually gave an internal sigh of relief seeing that the boy wasn't totally emotionless. "What is your name and why are you protecting him?"

"He is my older brother." The boy said in an emotionless flat tone. "And my name is Sai, a cadet in Danzo-sama's ROOT ANBU."

"Are those ink summons yours?"

" . . . Hai."

"Were you ordered to stay behind?"

" . . . No."

"I'm glad." The commander said before kneeling in front of the emotionless boy. "My name is Yamato, ANBU commander. On my honor, I will make sure no harm comes to you or your brother if both of you cooperate with us."

For several moments, Sai merely stared at the masked commander. Then, finally, he nodded and stepped aside, allowing Tenzou to examine the unconscious ROOT ANBU. Finding a kunai wound on the unconscious man, he quickly performed some minor medical jutsu on the man before ordering his men, "Squad five, search the area for any more hostile. Squad four, tend to the injured. Lieutenant, come with me. We are taking the boy and his brother to the hospital."

"Hai." The lieutenant said carrying the injured man on his back while the commander picked up the boy Sai gently in his arms. Together, the teleported to the hospital.

* * *

**KUMOGAKURE PRISON **

Iruka sighed for the nth time as he gently stroked the hair of his adopted daughter, Nii Yugito sleeping with her head on his lap. It has been a few hours since the Raikage's personal Jounin squad suddenly barged into Kumo Civilian school and arrested him right during class. When he asked why he was being arrested, the Jounins stated that he was suspected of conspiring against the Raikage, which was totally ridiculous because the Raikage is his personal friend, and would never think of going against him.

When he was brought to the prison, he was quite surprised when he found Yugito already there. She said she was arrested as well for being part of some conspiracy. Imagine how tense the entire prison was when the mild manner civilian teacher let out a killing intent that almost suffocated the entire prison. It was the mere fact that even Yugito was being affected that he stopped and merely went inside the cell with the young genin.

Iruka sighed once more. He rarely have a relapse to his old self ever since the end of the civil war, particularly after he adopted the young blond haired girl. She was the reason why he decided to stay in Kumo despite regaining his lost memory. Besides, it's not like he have anything else to come back to where he originally came from.

His silent musing was interrupted when he felt a familiar chakra approaching. Looking out the cell doors, he saw the one person he had been itching to talk to ever since he was taken here.

"Akira-sama. I hope you got a pretty good explanation for this." Iruka said in a hard tone.

The fifty two years old man in Kage robes with the symbol of lightning gave a sigh as he open the cell door and went inside taking a seat in a stool in front of Iruka and the sleeping girl.

"Iruka-san, please believe me when I say that all of this had been necessary." He said, taking out a small scroll from his robes and giving it to the other man.

Iruka immediately recognized the Konoha codes used in the message. But the contents of the message are what made Iruka gasped. Not only is it an order from the Hokage but his participation was requested by Namikaze Kushina herself.

"As you can see, the message has been sent to me first so as Raikage, I would act in your behalf if you refuse to carry out such an order. What the Leaf doesn't know is that this kidnapping is much deeper than they know."

"What do you mean, Akira-sama?"

"Iruka-san, for the past few months, the Council of Kumo had been making secret deals with Danzou and his ROOT. He is offering something that Kumo had been trying to gain for the past several decades but couldn't quite get."

Iruka gasped. "You don't mean. . ."

"Yes. Danzou is offering the Byakugan, by means of both heiress of the Hyuuga Clan. Even as the Raikage, I can't go against all of Kumo. The Kyuubi vessel is a mere bonus compared to that particular kekkai genkai."

Silence came after that tidbit of information. Both men knew how dire the situation actually is. Then, after several minutes of silent contemplation, Iruka finally asked, "What do you want me to do, Akira-sama?"

The Raikage gave the younger man a sad smile before taking out a small scroll from his robes and giving it to the stunned man.

Iruka gasped. He recognized the scroll immediately, considering it was Iruka who gave that scroll to the Raikage as a vow of loyalty to a friend, as well as the leader of his new home.

"Iruka-san, no, Konoha ANBU code name Dolphin, please heed one last order from me."

Iruka took the scroll in his hand and gave the Raikage his entire attention.

"Please put on your mask once more, heed the Hokage's request, prevent Kumo from gaining the Byakugan, and please take Nii Yugito with you back to Konohagakure no Sato." The Raikage then dropped to his knees and bowed his head in front of the stunned Iruka. "I ask all this not only as your Raikage, but also as a grandfather who have no choice but to abandon his grandchild."

He was save from answering immediately when Yugito stirred and opened her eyes. "Outo-san, what's going on? Raikage-sama, what are you doing here? What happened?"

For a moment both men were silent. Then, finally, Iruka turned to her, gave her a smile, and asked, "Yugito-chan, how would you like to move to Konoha with me?"

"Um, why? Don't get me wrong. Even if I never did consider Cloud my home, why there?"

"Because, to tell you the truth, there's something there I need to confirm, if only to give me closure. Besides, I'm quite sure you'll like it there."

It took exactly five seconds for Yugito to make a decision and ask, "When do we leave?"

"As soon as I tie up some loose ends." Iruka said, opening the storage scroll and activating it.

Yugito gasped when a very familiar white dolphin ANBU mask and light gray cloak appeared. The first time she saw it was when she the wearer of said items saved her and gave her a first glance of happiness throughout her entire life. For the nth time this past three years, she was extremely grateful for meeting her adoptive father.

* * *

**HOKAGE TOWER**

"So, Danzo escaped through a secret tunnel system under the ROOT Headquarters. This does not bode well." The Sandaime said as he leaned back tiredly on his chair after Yamato finished his report.

"Hai, Hokage-sama. We tried following through the tunnel but we found it collapsed half way. Having most of the Hyuuga ANBU track it, we found the exit a couple of miles outside of Konoha near Route 33-C. We concluded that Danzo had taken his entire army with him to Kumo, leaving behind at least fifteen men as suicide bombers to cover his tracks. They would have blown up the entire building if my men didn't apprehend most of them on time."

"I see. What do you think of the young boy you found? What was his name again?"

"Sai, sir. No last names. He was one of the twenty cadets ranging from four to eleven years old being trained in secret as the perfect shinobi, by means of taking away their emotion or conditioning them as perfect soldiers, at least that was what I've concluded from our investigations." The ANBU commander said, his voice clearly indicating his disgust of Danzou's methods of training children. "The young Sai managed to sneak away when he heard his older brother was to be left behind. According to the reports, one of my men managed to wound his older brother. Said brother was just about to perform a kamikaze run when Sai himself knocked his own brother out. Before he could escape with his brother, they were cornered by squad five and he was forced to retaliate by summoning ink animals. Sai is currently in the hospital watching over his brother along with squad three."

"I'm glad he wasn't completely turned by Danzou's methods. But still, why would he go to Kumo knowing Konoha have a secret alliance with its current Raikage ever since Kumo's civil war? What does he have to offer for safe passage through Kumo?" The Sandaime asked mostly to himself. Then, a thought hit him. _'No way! Danzou wouldn't do such a despicable act! But still, it's the most likely thing Danzou could offer to ensure his place in Kumo.'_

Yamato almost took a step back from the sudden flare of anger in the Hokage's eyes. He gulped when the old man turned to him and said, "Yamato, bring me Hyuuga Hiashi immediately. Make sure no one else but him see you."

Before the commander could answer, both he and the Hokage felt a familiar chakra approaching. Seconds later, the door to the office opened and in came Hyuuga Hiashi himself dragging an emotionless Hinata by her shoulder followed closely by his nephew Neji, who was carrying an unconscious Hanabi in his arms.

"Forgive our intrusions, Hokage-sama, but this is a matter of great importance." Hiashi said, barely concealing the rage he was feeling right at the moment.

Looking at the rage of both the Hyuuga Clan head and the young Neji, then to the emotionless face of the Hyuuga heiress, the Sandaime own anger boiled at the true culprit, Danzou. "I think I know exactly what has happened. But please enlighten me nonetheless." The old man said.

"This child is an impostor. My daughters are missing and this child won't tell me where they were taken." Hiashi said in a tight voice, his hold on the impostor's shoulder tightening, earning an almost silent pained gasped from the child.

The Sandaime raised his hands, silently telling the Hyuuga Clan Head to stop hurting the ROOT agent, which Hiashi reluctantly obeyed. Despite who she is, she is still a child.

"I believe you, Hiashi. But still, can you tell me what brought you to this conclusion?" The Sandaime asked.

"Hiashi-sama, if I may?" Neji asked. When his uncle nodded his head, Neji turned to the Hokage and said, "I first noticed something strange about this girl two days ago, when she didn't came to the kitchen to get her regular cup of decaf coffee. At first I thought she merely skip a night but when I confronted her the next day she said she merely forgot about it. Also, during our spar, she had hit me, actually shutting off one of my main tenketsu points. The real Hinata-sama would have panic at hurting me that way but this girl didn't even bat an eye. Then, this morning, I made a thorough scan on her with my Byakugan and saw some abnormalities in her Byakugan. Hanabi-sama was in the way so I accidentally made a scan of her as well. Although Hanabi doesn't have any abnormalities in her Byakugan, several parts of her skin, particularly on her face, show some alterations. That's when I told Hiashi-sama about my suspicions and my uncle confirmed it. Both heiress of the Main House have been replaced with doubles."

The Sandaime saw that the Hinata look-a-like already seems resigned to her fate, like a condemned man merely waiting his execution. "What is your name, child?" The Sandaime asked softly.

"My name is Hinata, Hokage-sama." The girl said in almost a whisper. No emotion but resignation in her voice.

"Shut up!" Neji shouted in rage. "You're just an impostor! You're not Hinata!"

"Actually, she is. Or rather, that she had been called Hinata ever since she was brought to ROOT HQ. I don't think she even knows what her real name is anymore." Came a young voice from behind them.

Turning around, everyone saw the ANBU Lieutenant walking through the door with the young Sai beside him.

"What do you mean, Sai?" Yamato asked the young boy who spoke a minute ago.

"This girl, Hinata, had been brought to ROOT due to her physical similarities with Hyuuga Hinata. She was trained to be Hyuuga Hinata for this one purpose." Sai said in the same flat tone before turning to the unconscious Hanabi on Neji's arms.

The Sandaime didn't failed to notice the first genuine sign of fear from the Hinata look-a-like when everybody's eyes turned to the unconscious little girl.

"This one, on the other hand, had been conditioned to believe she is the real Hyuuga Hanabi." Sai said.

The Hyuuga men were about to retort when the Sandaime said to Sai, "Please explain further, Sai."

"Hanabi is a Hyuuga, just not Hyuuga Hanabi. It was said that her mother has been a chunin that went MIA a couple of years ago. But according to rumors within ROOT, her death was staged by orders of Danzou-sama for the purpose of breeding children with Byakugans to offer to Kumo. I have no information on why she wasn't offered to Kumo instead of being used as a decoy." Sai finished, his voice flat throughout his entire explanation.

"It is because Hanabi-chan never developed the Byakugan, despite her pupil-less white eyes." Came the soft voice of the Hinata look-a-like, earning the attention of everyone in the room. She turned to Hanabi for a moment before turning back to most of the people in the room before continuing, "She had been living under a genjutsu most of her life, making her believe she was living Hyuuga Hanabi's everyday life. She unknowingly had a few facial surgeries to make sure she looks exactly like Hyuuga Hanabi."

"So what are you saying exactly?" The Sandaime asked, already dreading the answer.

"That Hanabi-chan is an innocent, despite her role on all of this." She then turned towards the Sandaime and kneeled before the old leader before saying, "Hokage-sama, I implore you, please spare her. She is a mere child caught in a conspiracy out of her control. She is innocent."

For a moment, every one in the room went silent to digest this latest information, the Hyuuga men in particular, who gave a glanced at the Hanabi look-a-like with a much softer look compared to earlier.

"I see. Then tell me, why just ask for her and not include yourself as well?" The Sandaime asked Hinata.

"To ask for myself would be moot point, considering I wouldn't last the next month."

"Explain." The Sandaime ordered immediately.

"Unlike Hanabi-chan, I was not born a Hyuuga. These eyes of mine have been implanted a month ago by order of Danzou-sama. The eyes are incompatible to my body and would inevitably cause my death in a month's time."

There was almost a visible drop of temperature in the entire room. All the males present felt a cold fury bursting out of them for the one person responsible for this incident.

"Lieutenant, please escort Hinata-chan, Hanabi-chan, and Neji-kun outside for a moment." The Sandaime said, trying to conceal his anger.

The lieutenant nodded and escorted the three children out of the office before closing the door behind him. As soon as they were gone, Hiashi turned to the old man and said with a barely contained rage, "Hokage-sama, permission to join the rescue team as well as to take out Danzou and his ROOT."

The Sandaime actually contemplated granting Hiashi permission despite the political fall out that might result by having half the Hyuuga Clan charging towards Kumo. Kami knows he would have done it himself for all the atricities Danzo committed, particularly on children. But logic barely managed to win in the end. "Denied. We wouldn't be able to catch up to him before he reached the boarder. I couldn't risk Konoha going to war with Kumo at the moment, especially now that there seems to be a political power struggle in Lightning country. Our first priority is to rescue both the Namikaze and Hyuuga heirs. I already have one agent in Kumo and another on his way, one which has no ties to Konoha at the moment."

"Who are these agents, Hokage-sama?" Hiashi asked, having his doubts that a mere two people would be able to go through Danzou's ROOT ANBU to rescue the kidnapped children.

"Dolphin and Weasel."

Hiashi almost gasped. Both of those men were well known ex-ANBU. One was known as the hero of Kumo's civil war. The other a prodigy of the highest caliber with a dark past. Both are powerful shinobi of Konoha. Dolphin would make sure the children would get rescued while Weasel would make sure to eliminate anyone that gets in Dolhin's way.

It was just then that Hiashi finally noticed another presence in the room. Turning to the corner, he saw a familiar young man stepping out of the shadows.

"Uchiha Itachi." Hiashi said when he finally calmed down.

"Hiashi-dono." Itachi said in an emotionless tone, nodding his head in recognition.

"Have you heard everything, Itachi-kun?" The Sandaime asked calmly.

"Hai, Hokage-sama. I am already in pursuit of the ROOT forces and would alter mission parameters accordingly." The young man said in a professional tone.

"Good. Our first priority is to rescue the children. Bringing back Danzou's head is optional. We will discuss your parole at your return."

"I would rather stay at my current status."

"Do you really think Kushina-san would allow you your self-imposed punishment once you return with those children? The only reason she allowed you to stay there as long as you had is because Kushina believed that you needed this for your sanity."

For the first time, Itachi allowed a small smile appear on his face. "It is quite strange to have two such personalities inhabiting one body. Despite that, both cares the same, just like Yondaime-sama."

"You are right, Itachi-kun. Is it a wonder that you chose to side with the Hokage instead of Fugaku and the Uchiha Council?" The Sandaime asked in jest.

"Not at all, Sandaime-sama. Anyway, I shall return with the children as soon as I can." With that, Itachi, who had been a Kage Bushin all along, disappeared in a puff of smoke, transferring all its knowledge to the original Itachi, who is currently pursuing the ROOT army to Kumo.

As soon as the Itachi Bushin was gone, the Sandaime turned to the silent Hyuuga Hiashi and asked, "Tell me, Hiashi, what are your plans concerning Hinata-chan and Hanabi-chan?"

"What makes you think I have any plans concerning those two, Sandaime-sama?"

"Because, despite their role in this, I would not allow any harm to come to those two, particularly Hanabi-chan." The Sandaime said seriously, the threat visible between the lines.

"Then we are of the same page, Hokage-sama. By your leave, I have a lot of work to be done, particularly bringing both child int the clan." With that, the Hyuuga Clan Head left the office.

nce he was gone, the Sandaime turned to Yamato and said tiredly, "I really hate politics."

Yamato could only nod in agreement.

* * *

Neji has been leaning against the wall for a few minutes now after they left the office, staring at the sleeping Hanabi with her head on Hinata's lap, gently stroking her hair.

For a moment, Neji almost forgot that these two were mere impostors posing as his uncle's daughters. But everyone could see how much this Hinata adores and cares for the fake Hanabi, much like the real Hinata with the real Hanabi.

Neji knew he should hate these two impostors but having the information he have now, he just couldn't force that hate to stay.

Neji's thoughts came to an abrupt stop when he heard Hinata say, "You adore them, don't you."

"What?" He asked dumbly, caught unaware.

"The real Hinata and Hanabi, I mean, particularly Hinata-san." She said, her voice flat and soft, not even looking at him.

"How much do you know about her?" He asks flatly. But there was genuine curiosity on his voice.

"Almost everything. But considering how easy we've been caught, it wasn't enough."

"I wouldn't be surprised. Hinata-sama barely shows her real self in public, even within the Hyuuga Clan House."

"But she have no reason to hide anything from you, it seems. You have proved time and time again how loyal you are to her. Not to the Hyuuga but her specifically. Can I ask when you decided to devote yourself to her, that is, if you wouldn't mind?"

For several minutes, Neji contemplated if he should tell her that particular event. In the end, he decided that it wouldn't hurt any if she knew so he said, "It was a few days before the failed kidnapping of Hinata-sama by Gashir from Kumo, a week after I was given the Caged Bird Seal. Hinata-sama hurt her hand, I was never told how, but she was given a very chakra sensitive seal to heal it properly. Any use of chakra in the clan, including the Byakugan, had been forbidden by Hiashi-sama until the healing seal is removed in a weeks time.

"My father and I were watching Hiashi-sama spar with Hinata-sama in the dojo when my father tried to scan her with the Byakugan. Hiashi-sama, seeing this, immediately activated the seal on my father's forehead, putting him in extreme pain for disobeying a direct order from the clan head. Hinata-sama, seeing this, had attacked Hiashi-sama, unintentionally closing a tenketsu on his leg, as well as endangering herself."

"How?" Hinata asked in genuine curiosity.

"Because she tried to give herself a Caged Bird Seal three days prior."

_-----Flashback-----_

_ "Hinata, do you have any idea what would have happened if your seal reacted with the Byakugan's chakra?" Hiashi asked his crying daughter harshly, who was standing between him and the now incapacitated Hizashi, who is just starting to recover from the effects of the Caged Bird Seal a few seconds prior._

_ Neji, stunned at first by the harshness of the Caged Bird Seal to those who have them, was more stunned now that Hinata-sama actually attacked her own father to stop Hiashi from hurting Neji's father._

_ "T-The same t-thing y-you had done to u-uncle." Hinata said softly, trying to sound brave and failing miserably._

_ "Fool! The seal on your hand would have killed you instantly! There is a big difference between the Branch House's Caged Bird Seal and the one you tried to give yourself! Their seal produces pain. Yours will simply kill you. Hizashi almost killed you." He shouted harshly._

_ "I-I don't care!" Hinata shouted back, earning a gasp from everyone else in the room. It was the very first time the timid and shy Hinata had ever shouted like that, and to her own father nonetheless. Then, her voice turned soft, tears started flowing down her cheeks. "P-Please father, he is your brother, my uncle. Y-You're both family to me. I-I love you both."_

_ "Hinata-sama." Came Hizashi's voice. Turning around, they saw him kneeling behind her with his head bowed, his forehead touching the floor. "Hiashi-sama is not at fault here. He has every right to punish me for my disobedience."_

_ "P-Please, uncle. You d-didn't know. N-No one but me, f-father, and the Youndaime w-were supposed to k-know." Hinata said apologetically, kneeling in front of her uncle._

_-----End Flashback-----_

"The Caged Bird Seal she tried to give herself failed miserably. Instead of providing pain, it would have killed her instantly. Luckily, Yondaime-sama was able to put a counter seal on it to erase it a week later. But if any Hyuuga chakra had activated it, she would have died." Neji said, a scowl present on his face that Hinata didn't fail to notice.

"You don't seem to approve of her getting a seal of her own." Hinata commented.

"Of coarse not! She could have died that whole week." Neji said angrily.

"And you devoted yourself to her for doing it despite the dangers to her self. Because it showed you how far she would go to show that she doesn't care about the Hyuuga Main and Branch House conflicts. To her, family is family."

Neji's anger evaporated instantly. She was right. It was during that time that he had devoted himself fully to Hinata-sama, seeing her as the only one worthy of his loyalty. Over the years, his loyalty turned into brotherly love, which only intensified once Hanabi was born. For Hinata-sama, he gave her younger sister the benefit of a doubt, which turned out to be the right choice all along. Despite being a bit more rebellious than her older sister, Hanabi is just as lovable as Hinata-sama.

After several minutes of awkward silence, Neji asked, "Do you really not remember your real name?"

For the first time, Hinata looked directly at Neji's eyes, confused at his sudden gentle tone of voice. After a few seconds of silent contemplation, she finally said, "I-I think I remember a name. But it's been s-so long so I'm not sure if it's e-even mine."

"What is it then?"

"H-Hikaru."

"Hikaru." Neji echoed, as if testing how the name sounded to him by voicing it out. "It's a pretty name."

Hinata, or rather Hikaru, gave Neji a stare, her cheeks now sporting a tiny reddish hue.

It was just then that Hiashi stepped out of the door and look t all three of them. Neji gave him an indecisive look after a brief glance at the girls, Hikari gave off a resigned sigh, while Hanabi slept on.

Hiashi didn't fail to notice the Hinata look a like unconsciously drawing Hanabi closer to her when his stare turned to them. Despite no emotion showing on her face, her body language says she was afraid for the younger girl.

Before he could say anything, his nephew Neji suddenly kneeled in front of him, placing himself between the Clan Head and the two girls before saying, "Hiashi-sama, permission to handle the situation until Hinata-sama and Hanabi-sama's return." Then, as an after thought, he added, "Please."

Hiashi stared at his nephew questioningly. A few hours ago, Neji was just itching to strike down the impostors. Now, he seems to be trying to protect them from his supposed wrath, even going as far as to beg him to spare them. Neji had never begged for anything in his life. To force him to do so means he was quite serious indeed.

Trying to test his nephew's resolve, he gave them a glare with a small amount of killing intent as he asked, "Why should they be spared my wrath, boy? They are ROOT Agents, who's purpose was to make sure my daughters are taken without me knowing. Tell me why I should not strike them down for their roles in this conspiracy?"

Several emotions passed through Neji's face. First it was confusion. He wasn't sure himself why he suddenly decided to do this. Next was nervousness. He knew trying to reason with his uncle in his current state would be hard. Then it was anger. He knew Hiashi was right and has every right to be angry. And finally, defiance.

Neji stared at his uncle's eyes and said, "Because family is family. If Hinata-sama was here and knew everything I've learned about the situation, she would be the one asking you this."

Hiashi remained silent. He knows his nephew was right. Hinata could be as defiant as her mother used to be when she sees family being mistreated. And despite how situations come about, these two girls are still Hyuugas, at least until he makes it official.

Staring at Neji, he said, "Very well. Until Hinata and Hanabi are returned, you shall be responsible for them. We will then discuss their fate once they are back." Then, he turned his back on them and started to walk away, neither of the three children noticing the small proud smile the Hyuuga Clan Head sported on his face for his nephew.


	7. Ino and Yugito

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto does. But I wish I did.

SUMMARY: After a final attempt to turn the tides of war against an Orochimaru, Naruto suddenly woke up in a Konoha where the villagers saw him as a hero but all his precious people only saw him as a spoiled brat and a nuisance. But the biggest surprised of all is that a mother he had never knew was alive, and that he also has a younger sister with a terminal illness. Can he cope with this new world before him? Can he regain the trust of his precious people once again? And would he be able to defeat the Orochimaru of this world?

CHAPTER 7

Naruto woke up to the sound of explosions. Opening his eyes, he saw almost the entire forest is on fire. Specifically, black fire.

Amaterasu.

That on itself is already a big concern. The only Uchiha he could think of that could produce and control these amount of deadly fires is Uchiha Itachi. But it doesn't make sense. As far as his body's old occupant's memories, he knows that Itachi is in prison, serving, at what his mother keeps telling him, a self-imposed sentence.

Several Root ninjas are busy trying to put out the fire blocking their way out, while some are searching for the arsonist. He also saw several of Danzo's men laying on the ground dead with kunais and shuriken embedded in their bodies. Danzo himself is nearby, surrounded by at least half a dozen ROOT ANBU, while barking orders left and right. With his enhanced senses, he heard Danzo gave two of his men an order that chilled him to the bone. "Kill the older Hyuuga child and bring me the younger. She will provide as a meat shield."

He turned his head and saw the two agents already opening the cage. He knew he only have a few seconds before Hinata gets killed and Hanabi used as a shield againts the retrieval team so he gathered all the spirit and physical energy he could muster and added a third ingredient to the mix, natural energy, thus forming sage chakra.

For a couple of seconds, everyone stopped dead in their tracks when an enormous force came forth, suffocating the air and almost putting everyone down on their knees. Naruto's Kanashibari no Jutsu is already a potent technique with his mixed chakra, but combining it with natural energy, it was powerful enough to install fear to those ANBU ROOTS that doesn't even know the meaning of the word.

The last thing Naruto saw before being overwhelmed by his own technique are the Root falling to their knees before black flames covered their bodies.

* * *

Ino woke up with a spiting headache. Groaning, she sat up on the bed, massaging her forehead in an attempt to ease the pain. "Damn. That's the last time a let Anko talk me into one of her drinking games."

"Who's Anko?" came the sudden voice beside her.

She squeaked in surprise and turned to the stoic looking Shikamaru sitting on a bench beside her bed. "Damn it, Shika! Don't scare me like that. And what the heck are you doing in my. . . Hey! This aint my room!"

Shikamaru gave her a raised eyebrow and said, "You're in the hospital."

"I know that, you lazy ass. What the hell am I doing here?" she snapped, her headache getting worse.

"You don't remember?" he asked softly.

"Would I be asking you if I do? Honestly! Did your laziness finally put the rest of your brain in permanent hibernation?" Her headache finally getting the better of her, she flopped back into bed, covering her eyes with her left arm.

Shikamaru would have said something more but the door to the room suddenly opened, letting Yamanaka Inoichi and a female doctor in. The Yamanaka patriarch didn't wait a second longer before grabbing his daughter in a hug. "Princess! You're awake!"

"ACK! Daddy! Stop embarrassing me!" The little girl complained, pushing her father enough to breathe. "What the f**k is going on? One minute I'm walking inside the ritual room and the next I find myself in here, wearing this sorry excuse of a rag."

"It is a standard patient gown, Yamanaka-san. It's supposed to be dull." The female doctor said calmly.

"Well you should have it change. Fashion conscious patients like myself would feel sick just looking at it. Wearing it is just torture! It's simply atrocious!"

The doctor actually stopped to think about it for a moment before finally saying, "I'll forward it on the next committee meeting. Anyway, how do you feel?"

"Like hell." She groaned once more as she flop down on the bed.

The doctor step forward and placed her hands above Ino's forehead. As green chakra pulses out of said doctor's hands, she asked the girl, "Tell me, what was the last thing you remember?"

"Going to the ritual room with my dad at our house's basement." She then scrunch her face in thought. "Then, I remember something red. Then, blue. Nothing after that."

"Red and blue?"

"Yeah. I remember being scared of the red. But then blue came and everything felt right again."

For the moment, everyone digested her words while the doctor continued with her diagnosis. The doctor gave a small discreet nod at Inoichi while his daughter was not looking. Then, the doctor said, "There seems to be nothing physically wrong with her except for the small memory loss."

"Do you think it would be safe for me to look into her mind, just to make sure?" Inoichi asked.

"I don't see a problem with it, Yamanaka-san."

"Good." He said before turning to his daughter. "Honey, I'm just going to look into your mind for a bit, okay."

"Fine. But I would like to know what happened, got it?"

"Sure, honey. Now lie down and make yourself comfortable. I promise you it would be over before you know it."

Ino huffed but did exactly what her dad said. She loves her father very much but he could be so smothering sometimes. She's a pre-teen already but her dad keeps treating her like a six years old.

Going through several seals, Inoichi performed his jutsu. Several minutes later, he opened his eyes once more and gave a huge sigh of relief. "She's clean." He said before turning to his daughter. "Everything's alright now, honey."

"Great. It would have meant something to me if I actually know what's going on." She said, sarcasm evident in her voice.

"That's good news." The doctor said, ignoring the sarcasm. "I find no reason not to let her go home since physically she is also fine. Yamanaka Ino-san, I'll just go sign your release forms and you'll be set."

"But no one told me yet what brought me here."

"I'll let your father fill you in later. The entire Konoha medical staff is stretch out at the influx of nerve patients for the moment." The doctor said, pertaining to the amount of injuries due to the explosion of the earlier attack.

"Fine. Where's my clothes?"

"Right here, princess."

"Thanks, daddy." She accepted the articles of clothing her dad gave her before getting off the bed.

"What?" Inoichi asked when her daughter gave him a flat look.

"You really don't expect me to change my clothes in front of you, do you daddy?"

"Oh. OH! Right. Come on, Shikamaru." The man said as he hurriedly step out of the room, dragging Shikamaru with him.

Before he was out the door, he stop when he suddenly heard his daughter say, "That means you too, ANBU-san!"

Turning back, he saw his daughter glaring intently at an empty corner of the room. For a moment everyone was silent, Ino still glaring at the empty corner of the room.

Several seconds later, the hidden mole-masked female ANBU shimmered from the spot, having cancelled the genjutsu she used to hide. "How did you know?"

Everyone else wanted to know as well, particularly Inoichi. The man knew there was supposed to be a guard hidden in the room but even he wasn't able to pinpoint her exact location until now.

"Well, duh! You were broadcasting enough boredom for me to pinpoint from a mile away." Ino said grouchily, as if catching a well hidden shinobi like that aint a big deal. The ANBU was about to say something but Ino beat her to it and said, "I don't care if you're female as well, Miko-san, since everyone knows you swing both ways."

The female ANBU actually panicked and dropped into an attack stance. She was a trainee ANBU, barely three weeks in her post. No one else but the Hokage, her ANBU Squad Captain, and the ANBU Commander was supposed to know her name until her permanent insertion into the squad.

She was just about to attack when Inoichi's order rang out. "ANBU, stand down! As Second in Command of ANBU T&I, I am ordering you to sheath your weapons."

Obeying protocols, she sheathed her ninjato and stood in attention, watching as Inoichi suddenly rounded on his daughter, hitting her with a strange ninjutsu that seems to not do anything.

Suddenly, Inoichi gasp and said in an awed voice, "I don't believe it. How the heck did this happened?"

"W-what is it? What's wrong with me, daddy?"

Instead of answering his daughter right away, he turned to the doctor and said, "Could you diagnose her cranium? I need to be sure of something first." Before turning to Ino and saying, "Hold still for a moment, honey. This won't take long."

Ino was about to ague when her father gave her a stern look, making her pout but remain still as he and the doctor examine her again.

"Inoichi-san, you're daughter's chakra pathways on her brain are enormous. I haven't seen anything like this in any child her age." The doctor was in awe.

"Yes. Larger than any Yamanaka in the past hundred years." Inoichi said, his voice a combination of pride and fear.

"What does that mean for your daughter, Inoichi-san?"

For a moment, the Yamanaka patriarch went silent, everyone looking at him in curiosity. Then he said, "Half of her mental blocks are open. For a Yamanaka, it's like opening the eight Celestial Gates of the body. Even the Grand Master of the Yamanaka Techniques could only unlock two or three in their entire lifetime."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Shikamaru asked. "I mean, that's what the Yamanaka Rites of Passage for, right, to open those mental blocks to allow you guys to perform your mental techniques?"

Inoichi frowned. "Yes. But to open them without any negative symptoms requires more than single lifetime to achieve. But my deeper mind scan detects no such faults in her mental stability."

Ino thought about it for a moment before saying, "Really? Cool! I can't wait to shove that fact to everyone!"

Shikamaru gave a snort, shaking his head.

"Thanks, lazy-ass. But you shouldn't worry too much about me." Ino suddenly said.

"I didn't say anything."

"You don't have too. I could feel your relief flooding the room." Ino said smugly before turning to the still stationary ANBU in the room. "And you, stop feeling so nervous! You're giving me goose bumps!"

The ANBU finally had enough and shouted angrily, "Stop reading my mind!"

"I'm not reading your mind! Your nervousness is suffocating me!"

"Then how did you know my name?"

"Because of your nail polish, DUH! You're the only person I know throughout the entire Konoha who is proud to wear mismatched manicure."

Everyone then went to look at the ANBU's hand and saw a different colored manicure in each fingernail.

Shikamaru sighed before saying to his long time friend, "You, Ino, are the only girl I know who could identify anyone through their make up."

Trying to avoid a coming headache, Inoichi cleared his throat and said, "ANBU-san, please tell your commanding officer that the revelation of your identity is inevitable during the circumstance and would act accordingly should said identity be divulge by the people in this room."

The ANBU visually relaxed and said, "Thank you, sir. I'll have someone more appropriate for Miss Yamanaka's preference to replace me." Then, she made a single handsign and disappeared in a swirl of leaves, only to be replaced ten seconds later by another ANBU, this time a muscular man.

Ino gave the new arrival a once over before nodding her head. "He can stay."

Shikamaru gave his friend an incredulous stare and stated, "He's a man."

Ino shrugged. "Yes, but he's also gay so I don't see any problem."

"Are you?" Inoichi asked to the said ANBU, wondering how his daughter knew.

"Yes, sir. Yes I am. And on that note, that hospital gown is truly atrocious." The ANBU said in a monotone.

Shikamaru opened his mouth, but then decided to close it immediately before walking towards the door. "I don't want to know. So troublesome."

Inoichi merely sighed and gave the ANBU a nod before leaving the room as well, giving Ino the privacy to change her clothes.

* * *

"It was too easy." The Weasel masked ANBU stated in a flat voice as he scans the entire clearing for any survivors and found none, the incinerated body of DAnzo laying on his feet.

"You call this easy? I've never seen a more chaotic battle my entire life!" Hanabi, standing nearby with her sister, said in exasperation.

"I agree." Dolphin said, ignoring the girl's outburst, as he checks the rescued Namikaze heir for any injuries, the Hyuuga heiresses watching close by. He scowls internally as he found that the child was merely passed out due to chakra exhaustion. "It seems that Jiraiya-sama had been very zealous in his teachings." When Weasel look at him questioningly, he continued. "That was sage chakra that he used. I've only seen Jiraiya-sama fight using it once. He decimated an entire platoon of Waterfall nins, including the Mountain Bear Okobu."

Weasel nodded and said, "We better get back."

Dolphin agreed and placed the unconscious Naruto on his back, Weasel creating a single Kage Bushin and did the same with the Hyuuga heiresses. Soon enough all of them started heading back to Konoha.

They barely travelled a few miles before Weasel suddenly stopped, prompting Dolphin to do the same and look at him in a questioning manner.

"She is here." Weasel said flatly.

Dolphin immediately made a single handsign, creating a small chakra wave. Finding what he was looking for, he stared ahead and said to the forest, "You were told to meet us at the boarder."

Seconds later, Yugito dropped down from the tree she was hiding in about ten feet in front of them. Hanabi and Hinata reacted immediately. The older one started radiating fear, thinking that Kumo had managed to find them. The younger heiress started shaking in anger, but Weasel gave her a negative shake of the head, placating her immediately.

Yugito fidgeted a bit and said, "I-I didn't want to go and meet with Konoha nins without you there."

Outwardly, Dolphin was keeping his cool. But inward, he was kicking himself for forgetting that barely several hours ago, he and Yugito were still Kumo-nins, taught to threat Konoha as enemies. Promising to make it up to her later, once he discard his mask, he gave her a small nod and said professionally, "Yugito, you are to watch our six. Make sure you not to exceed 10 feet behind us. Let's move."

And they started moving again, this time, with Yugito trailing right behind them. They kept travelling in the same speed for the next few hours. As they travel, the Hyuuga heiresses, particularly Hanabi, couldn't help but look back at Yugito from time to time, particularly at her hitai-ate.

Yugito ignored them and did her job in looking for any trouble that may arise. But she also knows that very soon, she would be confronting other Konoha nins with a less than stellar thought about Kumo nins like herself.

She's afraid, that at least she could admit to herself. Several times she faltered in her steps the closer they get to the boarder of Konoha, but she kept up nonetheless.

They were almost at the boarder when they suddenly stop. Yugito saw Dolphin turn to her and give her another nod, telling her that no matter what happens she could count on him to be there for her. Strengthening her resolve, she gave a single nod back before taking off her Kumo hitai-ate. She stared at the forehead protector in her hand for several seconds before letting it drop in the ground, leaving it behind as she, Dolphin, Weasel, and the kidnapped children re-started running towards Konoha, and her towards her new destiny.

* * *

A/N: It's short, I know. I'm using this as a filler chapter while I finish up the next major chapter. I'm having trouble getting enough free time to research the some facts on the manga, namely the name of the Tsukikage and the people of Iwagakure. Could anyone help me out?And by the way, thanks for the tip on Shikaku's name.

Anyway, next chapter includes Kushina and her rescue of Naomi, Naruto waking up, and a bit of Iruka's history on how he ended up staying in Kumo.


End file.
